Issue 160 of Norfolk Nips and Cask Force

& CASK FORCE& CASK FORCE& CASK FORCE

Newsletter of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

No.160 Spring 2012

FREE

Special Festival section

* see pages 52 - 65

Norfolk Nips is Thirty Years old!

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Trafford Arms

Chris and Glynis invite you to the Trafford Arms - 61 Grove Road, Norwich 01603 628466

www.traffordarms.co.uk [email protected]

Raising money for Big CRaising money for Big C

We are not a ‘virtual pub’REAL Time!

REAL People!REAL Ale!

We are not a ‘virtual pub’REAL Time!

REAL People!REAL Ale!

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It seems incredible to me thatthirty years have passed sincethe launch of Norfolk Nips as aCAMRA newsletter. In that timethe staggering changes in theNorfolk real ale arena could nothave been predicted by any ofus who were involved inNorwich and Norfolk CAMRAin 1982.

At that time, although thenumber of Norfolk pubsserving real ale had soared inthe previous seven years frombelow twenty to around fivehundred, choice was severelyrestricted. The Watney group’sNorwich Castle Bitter was theonly real ale in large numbersof them. It seemed, perhapsdubiously in retrospect, that

other national brewing compa-nies provided appealing varietywith cask beers such asWethereds, Charrington IPA,Ind Coope Bitter and MannsBitter.

Unquestionably, though, thebeers of Adnams, whichappeared in around twentypubs in Norwich and more inthe wider county areas, weremore tantalising. Greene Kingand Tolly Cobbold were eachin a few pubs and in Norwichthe real ale drinker could relyon a small number of freehouses - chiefly the GoldenStar, the Ten Bells, the Plas-terers Arms and the White Lion

SPRING 2012 | 3

Norwich & Norfolk BranchChairman: Graham FreemanTel: 01603 687495Email: [email protected]: Warren WordsworthTel: 01603 665557Email: [email protected] Secretary: Michael PhilipsEmail: [email protected]

Pubs Officer: Mark StimpsonEmail: [email protected]

West 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 & West Norfolkbranches of the Campaign for Real Ale ©N&N CAMRA 2012 Norfolk Nips isproduced and distributed by members ofthe branch 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:12,000 copies / four times a yearNorwich and Norfolk District: Tony Miles [email protected] Norfolk District : Ros Harre [email protected]

Advertising:For advertising enquiries pleasecontact Jane Michelson or ChrisShilling on: 01778 420888 / [email protected]

Ad space in NIPS is regularly booked up longbefore we go to press, so to avoid disappoint-ment please get your ad space reserved at theearliest opportunity. The best way is to book aseries of four ads – your message will then bevisible all year round and you’ll enjoy adiscount off the regular price

Hard to believe, but Norfolk Nips is thirty years old this year. Somuch has happened in that time since Issue No.1, not all of it forthe best. But what was it like in 1982? Some readers will havevivid memories of those days, younger readers may be unaware.

Paul Moorhouse, the first Editor writes:

Continued Overleaf

m

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We are in it!

The ONLY Thai Restaurantfor Norwich in

THE GOOD FOOD GUIDE!

A great real ale pub in thecentre of the City

Exceptionally good Thai Foodlunchtimes and evenings

www.vinethai.co.ukWe are part of the

“Norwich City of Ale” ale trail

Small but Perfectly formed Summer

Beer Fest 25th - 30th June 2012.

Small but Perfectly formed Summer

Beer Fest 25th - 30th June 2012.

NN#160_Layout 1 12/03/2012 21:54

- for more convincing ranges ofreal ales from an array ofbrewers. On the microbreweryfront, Pete Turner’s StarBrewery was in operation atthe Golden Star and RayAshworth’s Woodforde’s beershad begun to flow fromDrayton a year earlier.

Over subsequent years a lot ofour energy in Norwich andNorfolk branch was spent oncampaigns of opposition to themonopoly that was enjoyed inNorfolk by the national Watneybrewing group through theirNorwich Brewery arm.Excluding their real ales fromthe beer festival and Norfolkbeer guide stirred up plenty oflocal publicity but behind thescenes CAMRA’s report to theOffice of Fair Trading,researched and written bymembers of the branch, may

well have had a more signifi-cant effect in catalysing theeventual changes that werebrought about by the BeerOrders.

The break-up of the nationalbrewers’ pub chains spawned awelcome boost in the size ofpub estates tied to somesmaller brewers. The rise of bignew pub groups that have hada mixed benefit to the pubconsumer and the loss of muchof the UK brewing industry toforeign ownership can prob-ably also be chalked up to theBeer Orders.

The merits of the changesthat have occurred to thebrewing and pubs trade overthe years are a subject fordebate, but few would arguethat we have not benefitedfrom the rise of hundreds of

new brewing companies that,although representing a smallminority of the UK beervolumes, have created a delugeof fascinating styles and brandsof cask beers for the pubs ofNorfolk as well as most areas ofthe UK.

Whenever the opportunityarises on my frequent visits toNorfolk, I pick up a copy ofNorfolk Nips and Cask Force,and from its pages I invariablyderive new knowledge ofexciting new developments inthe local real ale sector as well asa satisfaction that Norfolk Nipshas matured into such a colourful,stylish and entertaining maga-zine that is clearly a firm part ofthe Norfolk pubs scene.

Paul Moorhouse, Editor,Norfolk Nips 1982-1984 and 1985-1988

SPRING 2012 | 5

NORFOLK NIPS | Now we are thirty - continued

The Bridge End Inn, Ruabon,Wrexham, has won thecoveted title, less than threeyears after it was re-opened bythe McGivern Family.

The success is all the moreremarkable since the familywere told that there was littledemand for real ale in the area.

Now home to a micro-brewery, McGivern Ales, sevenreal ales and a selection of localciders are available at any one

time. Real Ales from over 100Breweries have featured sinceopening, with the emphasis onlocal produce.

Licensee Peter McGivern saidthat the pub was a family busi-ness and a labour of love. Theyhad strived to create a pub thatwas not focused on food andthat they would enjoy visiting.They had put the product firstand offered a wide range ofbeer styles, he added.

The other finalists were: The Engineers Arms, Henlow,Bedfordshire; Front, CustomHouse Quay,Falmouth, Corn-wall and The Swan with TwoNecks, Pendleton, Lancashire.

First ever Welsh Pub to winCAMRA’s National Pub of the Year!

.

.

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The clocks changed the lastSaturday in October, the darknights arrived and the pubscustomers stayed indoors. Thisappears to be what happenedas November proved to be avery poor Month for manypubs on my rounds. Especiallyon the food side.

Xmas and New Year didnot appear to be as busy either,as many had expected; andpersonally I found both quitequiet. January saw the closureof The Squirrels Dray at Sporle,The Winch at West Winch , TheSandboy at Bawsey and alsothe Anvil at Congham, althoughthis is being temporarilymanaged until the new land-lord arrives whilst some othersremain closed.

February and the Snow hasarrived (unfortunately) whichhas not helped at all. A busytime for CAMRA members aswe vote for the Pub of the Yearand select our pubs for theGood Beer Guide, unfortunatelyI shall be absent from thismeeting, as I hope to sayfarewell to the snow and fly offto see our friends Craig andSandi in Hawaii. Hoping thesnow has disappeared by thetime we return, that Spring isin the air and that trade hasimproved in the Pubs, whichhas not been helped by a sixpound a barrel Tax increase.

This has left very few Pubsunder £3 a pint in our area,and some hitting £3.50,making some of our pubs more

expensive than London. Wheresome informed me the otherday they purchased a Pint ofYoung’s Bitter for £2.70, whilstNorfolk wages do not compareto London wages.

Personally I think I think theGovernment needs to take thetax away from our pubs andput it on the supermarkets, ifthey really want to stop bingedrinking and help save ourBritish Pubs and our Real Ale.

Let’s hope spring will bringforth more sunshine and joy tous all (landlords and customers)

See you in the Spring.

BuffW.N.Chairman

Farewell to the snow

Try our Award Winning Norfolk Ales

Available All Year RoundAvailable in bottles and 5 Litre Mini Casks

on-line or from our brewery shop

The Wolf Brewery Rookery Farm, Silver StreetBesthorpe, Attleborough

Norfolk, NR17 2LDTelephone: 01953 457775

E-mail: [email protected]

www.wolfbrewery.com

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SPRING 2012 | 7

On one of my recent traintravels away from Norwich Ihad the experience ofdiscussing the virtues of RealAle with a group of lagerdrinkers. As the journeyprogressed the more annoying,boisterous and obnoxious theybecame. My thoughts immedi-ately went to the Prime Minister’srecent announcement callingbinge drinking a scandal whichgives the British a bad reputa-tion. He wants to introducedrunk tanks, booze buses andplans for a minimum price foralcohol. The call is to supportresponsible drinking but this isalready in place with the PubLandlords in control of theircustomers and telling themwhen they've had enough.

The real problem is the cheapbooze sold in the supermarketsand the lack of policing on ourstreets. CAMRA has alwayssupported responsible drinkingand have a good reputation inthe drinking world. I just hopethe Government ask us to assistin developing their strategy.However we know how muchtax they take on alcohol so byhaving a minimum price willonly increase their coffers. I feelit's just the usual rhetoric andthe focus should be on gettingthe drinkers back into the Pubs.As for the Real Ale drinkers theyseem to be the ones that arealways asleep on the trainsnoring loudly.

On other matters, our GoodBeer Guide Pubs will have nowbeen selected and even I don'tknow which ones have beensuccessful until the Guide ispublished. So don't ask me.However it's clear to me thatNorwich is still blessed withmany great Pubs. Comparethat with the forthcomingMembers Weekend in Torquaywhere there is only one GBGPub. I will be attending andpromoting Norwich for theMembers Weekend 2013 andI'm certain everyone will beamazed at the fantastic choiceof Pubs we have in this fine city.One Branch has even told methey have already organisedtheir Pub crawls in anticipation.

Our Winter LocAle Trail isgoing very well and somefortunate participants havealready completed all the Pubs.Well done. We will shortly behaving our Branch AGM andI'm hoping we have newCommittee members which isencouraging as more membersare becoming active in ourorganisation. We have over2500 Branch members butonly a few regulars attend ourmeetings and campaigningtrips. I would like to see moremembers involved and this willbe one of our objectives for thisyear. After all it's good fundrinking Real Ale.

Graham FreemanChairman Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letters

Do Lager Drinkers damageyour health?

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8 | SPRING 2012

Firstly congratulations toNorfolk Nips on its anniversary.I wonder what the world willbe like in another thirty years,not much chance of me findingout, I suspect!

Cask Force didn’t last thatlong and is of course currentlymerged with Nips. It seems tome that the blend has workedout rather well, with Nipsgoing from strength tostrength. I’d like to thank Mikefor his help with that processwhich I hope produces acounty wide real ale message.

Although pub closures are anincreasing threat to pub culture

and communities in general, asmall measure of good newsfrom our neck of the woods.The Bedingfeld Arms in

Oxborough, Chequers inFeltwell and the Red Lion inHockwold will all be re-open aspubs as you read this!

I would also like to congratu-late the Union Jack in Roydonwhich has been selected as ourbranch pub of the year 2012.

Thanks are due to all whohave contributed to Nips fromWest Norfolk CAMRA, Jeff hasfound time to write for us eventhough he now has a weeklycolumn in the Lynn News to

fill. Also our ex-chairman Timhas put pen to paper, welcomeback to the magazine.

Finally an article on Perryfrom Jim and Pete at Whin HillCider, with some stop pressnews! I hope to meet a few ofour readers over the next fewweeks as “City of Ale 2” loomslarge and it would be churlishnot to join in, good luck to allinvolved.

I hope our readers enjoy thisanniversary edition, and manymore.

Stig.

Stig’s Words

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Welcome to the Spring 2012Edition of Norfolk Nips. As inprevious years, this issue is aSpring Beer Festival Special.Wherever you are in Norfolk,you will not be far away from aBeer Festival, so why not popalong to one or two and givethem your support?

Hard to believe, but this issueis also our 30th AnniversaryEdition! In Edition No.1, EditorPaul Moorhouse said that theaims of the newsletter were toinform ordinary drinkers aboutCAMRA and its aims, and toprovide for CAMRA members asupply of news about localpubs, beers, breweries andlocal campaigns. That is as truetoday as it was then, but noneof it would happen without thesupport of members and realale enthusiasts throughout theyears.

So, to everyone involved,whether you edited,contributed, distributed orhelped in any other way, a bigthank you is due. Next timeyou have the opportunity, raisea glass and toast the successthat you have helped to create.

Since doing this job, I havefound that the county is awashwith unsung heroes helpingnot only Norfolk Nips but alsoour Beer Festival as well. Youknow who you are, please takea bow!

Norfolk Nips has certainlyevolved over the years, from itsearly days as an A4 4 pageedition, printed on uncoatedstock. The change in size to A5made it easier to handle andslip in the pocket to read athome. Changing to glosscoated paper permitted the useof photographs and paved theway for the full colour editionthat you are holding today.And it won’t stop there, wemust look to the future, whichis e-publishing, but the printedversion will always remain. Asan ex-printer, I now that thereis something about the look,smell and feel of a freshlyprinted copy in your handswhilst you enjoy a decent pintof real ale!

But we can’t do any of thiswithout contributions fromyou, the readers. If you haveany suggestions for futureeditions (and yes, I have had

one or two scribbled on beermats), want to write a feature,or send in some photos (HighRes. 300dpi preferred) then donot hesitate, please get intouch.

In this issue we welcomeGuest Contributor AnnabelSmith, the only femaleInspector for CaskMarque. Shewrites about the differencesbetween the North and Southand mentions Sparklers. A contentious issue some whileago, but I did notice that a pintof Ale from North of theCounty was being dispensedfor me through a sparkler.“Ah,” I said, “you are servingthis the traditional northernway through a sparkler!” Camethe reply “I haven’t beenshown how to serve it anyother way!”.

Enjoy!

NORFOLK NIPS | Words from the Editors

The Ed’lines

Subscriptions and West NorfolkBranch informationWe have a growing number of postal subscribers to Norfolk Nipsand Cask Force, and I would like to send my thanks for the kindcomments and best wishes from those who have renewed theirsubscriptions recently. If you would like to join them in receivingthe next 4 issues by post, send 12 first class stamps to Norfolk Nipsand Cask Force, 91 Tennyson Road, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 5NG.

I also send out occasional emails to members with details of forth-coming meetings and Branch events. All are welcome at thesemeetings so if you wish to add your name to my mailing list, sendyour email address to [email protected].

SPRING 2012 | 9

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10 | SPRING 2012

The Pigs, EdgefieldSeven new bedrooms are beingadded to the pub, taking thetotal number to ten and thereis an added bonus to stayinghere. The mini bar on thelanding includes a handpumpdispensing the house beer –Old Spot from Wolf brewery.An “honesty pig” is providedfor payment.

The restaurant has beenextended and the car parkrenovated, you are now askedto “Park between the Pigs”.The barter system is still oper-ating, so if you are thirsty andhave a glut of produce, be itmeat or veg, take it into thepub. It will be whisked away toThe Head Chef who willexamine your wares and deter-mine what they are worth. TheBar Staff will then tell you whatyou can have. Anything theycan use is welcomed, recently athyme bush was brought in.

The Nelson,NorwichThe Nelson has featured manytimes over the last thirty years,usually with reports about itclosing. So it is very pleasing toannounce that it now up andrunning again, with newLicencees Don and Deb Pearce,formerly of The Champion. It isstill very much a communitypub, home to a Folk Club onThursdays plus the Pigeon andPipe Clubs. There are threeDarts Teams and two PoolTeams and the NUTS PokerLeague is there three nights aweek.

There is also live music onSaturday and the local SeniorCitizens can still get theirSunday Lunches here.

Don says that he has plans forthe garden in the summer withBBQ’s and Bouncy Castles inthe summer.

The Nelson is one of the newpubs signed up to The City ofAle 2012

Crown & Mitre, Lynnreceived good publicity in theLynn News for theircharity collection. Anvil,Congham is currently beingrun by its owner, Trevor Steb-bings whilst expecting thecouple now running Lynn’sPorterhouse to take over.Sandboy, Bawsey, currentlyshut. Winch, West Winchnow has new managementwith previous trade experience.Kings Arms, Shouldham isfor sale. Hogshead, Lynn isreported to have beenpurchased by people with pastconnections to the Lattice.They hope to reopen it in thefirst half of the year.The Wildfowler (closed),Retreat (open) and Cobble-stones (closed), all inKings Lynn are advertised tolet. Fenman, Lynn has beentaken on by new owners. A visitthe day after the meetingshowed that it was much aspreviously, the owner havingprevious trade experience. A third pump has been addedwith beers at £2- 2.20/pint.Woolpack, Terrington St.John is now trading under newowners. Old White Bell,Southery, with the ownersdue to leave shortly, theirsuccessors hope to keep itmuch as it is.Red Lion, Hockwold is stillhaving work done in theprospect of reopeningshortly.Bedingfield Arms, Oxbor-ough, having had some work

| NORFOLK NIPS

Pub News

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to do to get a licence, recentlyreopened having been shut fora year. Station (previouslyNorfolk Hero), Swaffhamreopened late last year.Reasonably smart, with IPA or aguest on draught, they aretaking it a bit at a time withnothing over-ambitious. Mealswere expected shortly.

News from the West

There is the usual depressingnumber of pubs closed or withthe ‘To Let/For Sale’ boardoutside. In Kings Lynn, theJolly Farmers and theHogshead have been emptyfor many years and morerecently have been joined bythe Wildfowler, Cobble-stones, Antonio’s Wine Barand the Queens Arms. Stillopen, but ‘To Let’ is theRetreat. It is a similar situationout in the villages, with, forexample, the Kings Arms inShouldham up for sale. Asreported elsewhere, it looks likethe Queens will become thesubject of a change of useapplication whilst the Wild-fowler has recently acquired a‘Lease to Let’ board. There maybe better news for theHogshead on the High Street.My sources tell me (OK, let’s behonest – it’s third hand taproom tittle-tattle), that the pubhas been bought and that itwill reopen later in the year.The old ‘Sale by Auction’ boardon Cobblestones has beenreplaced by a ‘To Let’ sign,whilst Antonio’s remains ‘ForSale’. Meanwhile, out at WestWinch Danny Shea and his wifePat have returned from

running a bar restaurant inSpain to take on the Winch. It will concentrate on foodwhich is served from 12 -4 and6-9.30 each day. Another pubwhich has recently changedhands, at a price of £175,000freehold, according to theestate agents website, is theFenman, opposite Kings Lynnrailway station. It has beenbought by a local businessmanand continues to sell goodvalue real ale.

In September we met theregional manager of GreeneKing who told us of theexciting plans to transform theWenns Hotel in Kings Lynn toa Local Hero ale house. So farno work seems to have beendone, but the lease is adver-tised for £27,750, and theadvert includes the followinginformation.’ The Local Heroconcept allows the operator tosell a minimum of 6 cask ales,50% of which must be GreeneKing brands, however, theremainder can be sourceddirectly from microbrewerieswithin a 20 mile radius.’

Meanwhile, the Cock atWiggenhall St Mary Magdalenehas been bought by a couplefrom Essex. (Offers in theregion of £225,000 accordingto the estate agents). The placehas been refurbished andcurrently offers Black Sheepbitter and a guest ale, with thepossibility of another handpump by the time we have ourbranch meeting out there inApril. The intention is not toserve food at the pub, andwhen we made our last visit,

the locals seemed to be verypleased with the way thingswere going. I am told that the Wash and

Tope in Hunstanton has newowners with a track record forReal Ale in the Norwich area,but their impressive websitemakes no obvious mention ofthe beer. A quick search forpubs for sale in West Norfolkbrings up a long list of otherresults. Some tease with thedescription, some are namedand others are possible topuzzle out with a bit of localknowledge, for exampleDaltons list a freehold opportu-nity in Oxborough for£524,950. If you have 10minutes to spare, have a lookand see how many you canwork out.

Whilst pubs struggle, somebreweries continue to thrive.Fox brewery up in Heachamcelebrates its 10th birthday inMay and I believe a weekend ofcelebrations is planned over thelast weekend of April. Out atTydd St Giles, Tydd Steamexpanded in 2010 to a 15barrel plant. They now supplyover 50 outlets and are lookingat further expanding produc-tion by installing newfermenting capacity. OakhamAles brewery in Peterboroughsaw sales rise by 34% in 2010with over 13,000 barrels beingsold. Despite doubling the sizeof the Maxwell Road breweryin 2010, investment continuesand further improvementsshould be up and running inthe spring.

Jeff

SPRING 2012 | 11

NORFOLK NIPS | News from the West

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Union Jack at Roydon wins WestNorfolk CAMRA Pub of the Year 2012

12 | SPRING 2012

One of the opportunities open to CAMRAmembers is to score the beer in any pub theyvisit. This is done on 10 point scale and theresults are recorded on the National BeerScoring System website which can be accessedby local branches. Obviously, this is not a perfectsystem. Beer quality can change from day today, peoples tastes and standards differ, land-lords come and go, low numbers of scores candistort results, some of our more remote pubsreceive few scores…I could go on. Never theless, I feel that it is an interesting exercise to rankthe results from the last year as we are about todecide on the entries for the next Good BeerGuide. I excluded pubs which had only onerating, and note that this list only includes pubsin the West Norfolk CAMRA branch area.

Of all the scores registered, the only pub with aperfect score was the White Hart at Foulden,which achieved this for a pint of HumptyDumpty Nord Atlantic.

The top beer pubs according to theiraverage score are as follows:1) Stuart House, Kings Lynn

2) Crown and Mitre, Kings Lynn3) Cock, Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalene4) Windmill, Necton5) Berney Arms, Barton Bendish6) Angel, Larling7) Ouse Amateur Sailing Club, Kings Lynn8) Railway Arms, Downham Market9) Sandboy, Bawsey10) Dabbling Duck, Great Massingham

My thanks go to all those who entered scores,especially Michael, who must have a greaterknowledge of Norfolk pubs than anyone elsealive. Why not get involved and make youropinion count. Just log into the CAMRA nationalwebsite, hover over campaigns and selectNational Beer Scoring System from the Addi-tional Information on the left. Otherwise I canenter your scores if you let me know the date ofyour visit, pub name and location score (0-5,including half marks) and your CAMRA member-ship number. Beer name is optional. The morescores I get, the more reliable the resultsbecome.

[email protected]

Beer scoring in West Norfolk | NORFOLK NIPS

West Norfolk’s Best Beer?

I am pleased to announce that the Union Jackhas been voted Pub of the year for the secondtime in four years.

Congratulations to Trevor, Mandy and theteam who maintain a true drinker’s pub livingtotally on wet sales.

The prices reflect Trevor’s policy of negotiatinghis own supply deals with breweries and passingthis on to his customers (maybe we can get himto pass on his secrets at some time!)

It seems this combined with excellent beerquality and regular beer festivals keep thecustomers, regular and longer range comingback for more!

For me the only flaw is that it is so far awayfrom my little corner of Norfolk, but I guess if Ilived too close I might never leave the Jackagain…

Stig

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14 | SPRING 2012

Pub Post Its | NORFOLK NIPS

Fox & Hounds - Weasenham St Peter16th Century building with, unusually for a ruralpub, a separate Lounge and Public Bar. There isalso a dining room off the Lounge. The pub iscomfortable, friendly and serves excellent pubfood. The Lounge Bar inglenook fireplace isnoteworthy, with stonework that looks asthough it may have come from Castle Acrepriory when it was dissolved. Regular beersAdnams Bitter Greene King IPA and one guest.

Apollo Tavern Only 3 real ales on last time I visited, withnothing over 4% ABV available. “Apollo”though, a fair deal at £2 a pint. Not a lot of realale drinkers in evidence. (One, me!). Perhaps it`sa case of what time of day you go in?

Green Gate - Caister Doom Bar and Wherry always on and reasonablypriced. Wherry was £2.70 last visit. They`ve juststarted trying a lunch deal on Mons and Tues;£1.99 for a main course! Options include fish &chips and Cottage Pie & veg. Not tried it yet.Next time. Nice pub, pleasant people.

The Cherry Tree - WicklewoodDropped in on my way home recently. Thatnaturally curved oak bar top always amuses me.Three Buffy Ales on in good nick, plus a “glass ofNuts” for a £1.00 and a warm welcome,couldn’t be better. Except – that it is now on aBus Route, The Konnect No.6 Service, Watton –Norwich via Wymondham, stops outside.

King`s Head - Magdalen St., Norwich.A little birdy tells me that the admirable GreenJack Brewery in Lowestoft is doing a “Rauch-bier”. It will have happened, or not, by the timeyou might print this correspondence. (Note Stig,NOT Rauschbier. I hope your educational trip toBamberg was otherwise successful)! It should be

on sale in regular outlet The Kings Head inMagdalen St., Norwich, among others. What agreat pub. Well deserving of the GBPG accolade.There was once a brewery there but nobodyseems to know anything about it. Local Histo-rians; help! Lang may yer Schornstein rauch!

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?

THE ANGEL INNFREEHOUSE

NORFOLK CAMRA PUB OFTHE YEAR 2010!

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

Tel: 01953 717963www.angel-larling.co.uk

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of and

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16 | SPRING 2012

Pub Survey | NORFOLK NIPS

Norwich - Real Ale Capital* of the UK 2012?Norwich & Norfolk Branch of CAMRA areorganising another Pub Survey in the earlysummer (exact date to be announced nearer thetime), following on from last year's highlysuccessful event, where we found a total of 215different beers on sale.

Volunteers - both members and non-membersare welcome to participate - will between themattempt to visit every pub in Norwich on ONEday, to establish which beers are being soldwhere, and for how much. Once the hard workis over we’ll be getting together to mull over theresults at our temporary 'HQ' in one of the city'sbest real ale pubs, where we hope to announceduring the evening that Norwich is the Real AleCapital* of the UK again in 2012.

Apart from the publicity and the kudos gener-ated by the survey, there is a serious purpose aswell, as Ian Stamp, survey organiser, says: “Aswell as having a bit of fun trying to beat the

numbers achieved by other real ale cities such asDerby and Sheffield, the results of the surveygive us a lot of important information about thedistribution and variety of ales for sale inNorwich. Imagine if we had this sort of detailgoing back all the way to the late Seventies,when there were only about 5 different beers inthe whole of Norwich!”.

If you’d like to help with the survey, or are justinterested in the results, you can follow progresson Twitter @NrwichPubSurvey (yes, there's an“o” missing!) or on Facebook - just search for“Norwich Pub Survey 2012”, or email [email protected] - you'll be

most welcome! The survey will cover postcodeareas NR1 - NR7, plus a few pubs just outsidethese postcodes which are still be considered tobe 'in Norwich'.

*By number of different beers sold per1,000 inhabitants

26 St Leonards RoadNorwich NR1 4BL01603 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

ENJOY THE SUMMER WITH A FINE ALE IN OUR BEER GARDEN

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SPRING 2012 | 17

FOUR REAL ALESWednesday Irish Folk Music Friday & Saturday Live Music Sunday Celtic Folk Music

Large garden overlooking the River Wensum

OPEN: Mon - Thurs 12-11Fri & Sat 12-12 • Sunday 12-11

The Gatehouse Pub 391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ Tel: 01603 620340 The Falcon

Pulham Market, IP21 4SU

Tel: 01379 608897 facebook.com/falconpulham

Live Music and QualityCask Ales

Sat 3rd March -Tattooed lies- rockSat 10th March - After Hours Blues Band

Sat 17th March - Coyote Wrecks-rockSat 24th March - To The Last -rockSat 31st March - Storm Riches 40th

Sat 7th April - rock bandSun 8th April - Sun of Cash 5pm country

Sat 14th April - rock bandSat 21st April - Tamel – 50’s, 60’s, 70’s

Sat 28th April - Leopard Trio - rock&roll

Sat 5th May - Rock Band Sun 6th May - Classic Car and Bike Show,

music, stalls and trophies from noonSat 12th May - Fourplay- R&B

Sat 19th May - Blues Situation - R&BSat 26th May - Live Wire - Rock

Sat 2nd June

Wild West Fancy Dress Party

Raw edge – classic rock

Mon 4th June

Garden PartyBBQ and music from 2pm

#

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DUKEof WELLINGTONTRADITIONAL REAL ALE HOUSE

91 - 93 WATERLOO ROAD | NORWICH | 01603 441182

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

6 MORE ALESON HAND PUMP

WelcomingREAL FIRE

CAMRA Good Beer Guide ListedOpen Monday to Saturday

12noon to 11pm

Sundays 12noon to 10.30pm

Come and enjoy our TapRoom with a selection of

Belgian bottled beers, Budvar,Erdinger and Riegele all on

Draught.

Enjoy your favourite takeaway with apint of real ale and friendly company!Just order your food to be delivered to the pubor bring it in and we provide plates, knives,

forks and environment.

We even have the menu’savailable - Indian, Pizza,

Chinese, Fish and Chips etc.

Wednesday Special (12 Noon – 11pm)

FOUR guest ales, changing every

week, just £2.00 per pint!

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NORFOLK NIPS | CAMRA News

CAMRA is to launch a new national pubscampaign, Community Pubs Month, to cham-pion local pubs which are at the heart ofcountless communities across Britain.

The aims are to increase footfall in pubs, toencourage more publicans to promote new orexisting events to attract further trade, and tospread awareness of community pubsthroughout the media.

The dedicated website – www.communitypubsmonth.org.uk – is gearedup to give pubs free publicity through listing anyevents licensees have planned throughout themonth. Pubs signing up will be given freepromotional material to help promote theirevents, whether it be the regular weekly pubquiz or a big one-off charity bash to get thecommunity together. Kicking off proceedings onMonday April 2nd with Community Pubs Day,CAMRA branches across Britain will be organ-ising a wide range of events to promote theirlocal pubs during the Month.

Tony Jerome, CAMRA Head of Marketing, said:‘We realise it’s a tough time out there for pubs at

the moment – as CAMRA’s new pub closure figureshighlighted last week – and this is why CAMRA hasput a large amount of campaigning funds into thisinitiative to help pubs market themselves during April.’

CAMRA launch national pubs campaignN E

S D

m m

S P

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var, on

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20 | SPRING 2012

The Crown is a multi-roomed18th century building thatevolved from a small villagepub of three rooms with anextension on the right addedjust after the war. The plansdated 1939 for the expansionof the pub can be viewed in aframe on the wall (between theright hand bar and first roomthat forms the extension). Thehighlight of a visit to the pub isthe small right hand bar stillwith high backed settle seatingforming a passage into theroom, very old benchesattached to the dado panelling,and old wood surround fire-place. The bar fittings here andin the left hand bar probablydate from the 1950s (as doesthe parquet floors). Bothcounter fronts were replaced in2009.

The last of the original threerooms is on the far left and has

an old fireplace with Dutch tilesand a bell push from the daysof table service. A smalldomestic room, which hasbeen amalgamated with theleft hand bar in recent years,has an old shelved cupboarddescribed by its Grade II listeddescription as “having conch

head with sun face and rays”.Another addition is the tinyroom at the rear of the righthand bar. In the extension onthe right, which is of bricks thatlook more from 1950s, than1939, there are three rooms.The first looks like a conversionof a former living room with a

Norfolk’s True Heritage Pubs 13 | NORFOLK NIPS

Crown, Gaytonnear Kings Lynn

This series of articles highlight the pubs whose interiors have been little altered in the past 40years or so. This issue features a multi-roomed West Norfolk village pub and one of Norwich’spubs selling a wide range of real ales.

Lounge bar at the Crown, Gayton

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small cast iron fireplace and redtiled floor. Twin doors lead tothe dining room, which has alarge 1950s brick fireplace andparquet floor. The formergarage at the far right end ofthe building has beenconverted into another smallroom called the ‘Boardroom’.

Crown, Lynn Road, Gayton PE32 1PA on the B1145, near thejunction with the B1153. It isopen from 12 noon to 11 (12midnight Fri, Sat). Meals areserved from 12 to 9 (9.30 Fri,Sat, Sun). Phone number is01553 636252. Website:www.gaytoncrown.com.Accommodation is in 4 en-suitebedrooms. Norfolk Green Bus48 runs hourly during the day

from Kings Lynn. Real ales onsale are the increasingly rareGreene King XX Mild, otherregular beers are Greene KingIPA, Abbott Ale, Old Speckled

Hen and a guest beer, whichcan be a non-Greene King ale.Dog friendly, children arewelcome.

SPRING 2012 | 21

Dining Room in the extension at the Crown, Gayton

A visit to the Whalebone isrecommended to see the littlechanged public bar in a pubthat was built in 1878-80.Although the pub has beenmuch extended and renovatedin recent years this does notimpact on the old parts. Ofparticular interest is thesplendid old and rare bar backfitting with narrow mirroredpanels along the top adver-tising "Bullard & Son", "Ales”,"& Stout"; also four narrowvertical mirror panels. The barcounter is also the original onebut with a new top, as is thered and black diamond quarrytiled floor. Originally there wasa separate off-sales situatedopposite the side door. The TopBar situated to the right of thepublic bar is also an originalroom. The licensee’s officehouses an old Bullards metalsign depicting stylised versionsof the Bullards Brewer logo.

Whalebone, Norwich

Continued OverleafThe exterior of the Whalebone, Norwich

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SPRING 2012 | 23

NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk’s True Heritage Pubs continued

The Lounge Bar has no oldfittings and a recent expansionhas seen the creation of theConservatory Bar and theTerrace Area, which is almostcovered by two large umbrellas,where in the evening tableservice is available. – very rarethese days.

There is another similar veryold bar back fitting with toppanels of “Brandies” and“Cigars” situated in the WalnutTree Shades, Old Post OfficeCourt near the Arcade inNorwich city centre.

Whalebone, 144 MagdalenRoad, Norwich NR3 4BA isopen from 11 (12 Sun) to 11 (12 midnight Fri, Sat). The only food on sale is nuts &crisps. Phone number is 01603425482. It is served by Bus10/10A from the city centre. Ithas a range of up to 10 realales including Broadland(Courage) Best , Fullers LondonPride, Oakham BishopsFarewell, JHB, WoodfordesWherry. The pubs runs anannual beer festival.

Left: The old bar fittings in thePublic Bar at the Whalebone,Norwich

Bottom: The bar back fitting atthe Whalebone, Norwich

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

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An autumn day last year and Idrove over to Diss. Friends Nigel& Claire were going to show methe delights of the Diss pubscene, I’ve driven through Dissmany times on the way to otherplaces (such as Thorpe Abbots100 Bomb Group Museum), butnever stopped there, certainlynever been in a Diss pub, so thiswould be an education for me,also joining us were Stewie &Kev. Nigel has covered Dissalready, but I thought anotherview of the town would beuseful.

Parked the ‘Ferrari’ (I’m joking!)at Claire’s house we walked intotown for our first port of call. TheWhite Horse is Nigel & Clare’slocal, a friendly pub serving twoAdnams ales in Bitter and Broad-side, good pint of bitter to startthe crawl. A few yards along thestreet (via a chip shop) is theSaracens Head, busy withlunchtime diners, as it was a niceday we sat outside in the beergarden, the Wadworth 6X wasdecent, couldn’t judge theatmosphere as we were insideonly briefly. Next on our wanderwas the Greyhound, a large tworoomed pub with the back barfeaturing a few televisionsshowing Sky Sports and a pooltable (we had a game or three),had some Gales HSB here whichwas good. We did go in theNutbush but there was no ale on(they had two clips turned‘round which were Greene KingIPA and Adnams Bitter). So out tothe Cock, the circus was oppositeand the pub was fairly busy, Iremembered I’d been in theCock before when meeting N&C

at a beer festival there, hadTimothy Taylor Landlord. Theladies loo was overflowing, toomuch Bud methinks!

To the Park Hotel bar next,called Delucy’s I think, amongstsome standard choices was myfave pint of the day, HumptyDumpty Reedcutter, first timethat day we’d had something alittle out of the ordinary (alsojoined by Claire’s Mum Sue, hiSue!). We returned to the WhiteHorse as Stewie and Kev headedfor home, me and Nige squeezedin a couple games of pool, not somuch Whirlwind White as TwisterTim!!! Time for a bite to eat,headed to the Waterfront nextdoor to a wee lake called TheMeer, a Greene King outlet, theirbeers were on, I had a seasonalale called Bonkers Conkers whichwas okay, the toad in the wholewas good. Back to the WhiteHorse yet again, it was karaokenight but I resisted the tempta-tion to give the pub my ‘version’of “Bohemian Rhapsody”! Wemissed out one or two others butI sort of gathered that Nigel &Claire showed me the best of thetown’s pubs.

So, what do I think of the Disspub scene? The Cock and theWhite Horse are good pubs, butthe fact that we went to thelatter three times speaksvolumes, Diss doesn’t have atruly outstanding real ale pubthat you’d find in Norwich orCambridge. And the lack ofanything out of the ordinary beerchoice wise is disappointing, as Isaid earlier only the Park Hotelhad something different on, so

all in all an interesting experi-ence. But could do better.

PS-this is my personal opinion,and I’ll happily go back to Diss fora drink sometime, let me knowwhat you think. Cheers!!!

By Yoda’s green digit! Aka,Timbo

Parliament hearsconcerns over

“independence” of newpubs dispute panel

Greg Mulholland MP has chal-lenged Business Minister Ed DaveyMP over the appointment of asurveyor employed on variouscases by Punch Taverns asChairman of a new pubsdispute panel. This new pubsdispute panel (PICAS) wasformed as part of the self regula-tion deal between theGovernment and the pubcompanies last year and is anintegral part of Ed Davey’s planto curb the excesses of the largepub companies.

Greg Mulholland MP said inParliament: “The one seeminglyhopeful part of the Government’sotherwise dreadful response onpub companies was the unfortu-nately named PICAS—the pubindependent conciliation andarbitration service. However,hope soon faded when it wasrevealed that it was to be pubco-funded, and this week it has beenannounced that it will be chairedby a Punch Taverns surveyor.Does the Minister think thatlicensees will want to use thatsupposedly independent body?”.

West Norfolk Pub Report | NORFOLK NIPS

24 | SPRING 2012

Diss is a Pub Report

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SPRING 2012 | 25

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26 | SPRING 2012

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SPRING 2012 | 27

NORFOLK NIPS |

The Cty of Ale Festival, supported by Norwich andNorfolk CAMRA Branch, will run from 31st May –12th June this year. Bigger and better than lastyear, 32 Pubs and 7 Breweries have signed up sofar, including some new ones.

This year, St Gregory’s Arts Centre will be the hub,and will host events throughout the Festival, suchas the Launch Party, a Political Debate, an Auction,Pub Quiz Finals Night and a Comedy Night.

There will also be the return of the popularBrewers’ Market outside the Forum and manyevents taking part in the Pubs and Breweries them-selves. Rupert Eris is organising a Treasure Hunt,similar to the ones held in Norwich and GreatYarmouth last year. Full details of all events,including the Ale Trails, will be in the Programme –which this year is free!

To promote the Festival, Beer Writers from all overthe UK were invited to a Preview Weekend inNorwich. Welcomed at a Reception at The Forum,they were addressed by Co-Chairs Dawn Leederand Phil Cutter;The Sheriff of Norwich, ChrisHiggins; Warren Wordsworth from CAMRA andRod Stokes, their Blue Badge Guide. Before they setoff for their first port of call, The Vine, we were allregally entertained by the new film presentation onthe history of Brewing and Pubs in Norwich byFrances and Michael Holmes.

The writers, Jeff Evans, Susanna and Mark Forbes,Tim Hampton, Darren Norbury, and AdrienTierney-Jones thoroughly enjoyed their visit of 22pubs in 4 sessions, two on foot and two on theCity of Ale Bus. Some excellent articles have sincebeen penned by them, which adds to the claimthat Norwich is the City of Real Ale. And there ismore! Norwich is a finalist in the National Britain inBloom Competition. To mark this achievement,Norwich in Bloom have organised a Bloomin’ AleTrail, supported by Woodfordes, which will runalongside the City of Ale Trails. More on that inthe next issue.Bloomin’ marvellous!

City of Ale UpdateEarle ArmsHeydon

Traditional Norfolkfreehouse and restaurant

Three Real Ales always available

Good Food • Real Fires

01263 587376

Satnav: NR11 6AD(Just off B1149 Holt -

Norwich Rd)

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Celebrate 2012 - The Diamond Jubilee and 217 years of Elgoods Brewing

A new

range of seasonal beers to celebrate our Greyhound logo will be available at The Reindeer Norwich,

The Duck Stanhoe, The Three Tuns Wisbech and several Elgood and Free Trade houses throughout East Anglia.

Tel: 01945 583160 Email: [email protected]

www.elgoods-brewery.co.uk

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Fakenham will be hosting itsfirst Beer Festival thanks tomembers of local communitygroup ‘Kick Start Fakenham’. Itwill be held in the communitycentre on Friday 23rd March, 7 - 11pm and Saturday 24thMarch 11 - 11pm

At least twenty real ales andciders from across the regionwill be featured and the entryfee of £10 will entitle visitors toa commemorative glassbearing the community centrelogo. In addition there will besix tokens, each of which may

be exchanged for a half-pint ofbeer or cider. Local bandMangolhead will be playing onthe Saturday. The event hasbeen made possible throughthe generous sponsorship ofmany local businesses and prin-cipally organized by LisaSmerdon and her partner GlenMallett who run Sweets ‘nThings on Oak Street.

Lisa recently organized thesuccessful Wedding Fayreweekend at the communitycentre and has been instru-mental in driving forward a

number of town initiativesthrough her roles as a towncouncillor and secretary ofboth Kick Start Fakenham andthe community centre.

The Festival will be staffed byvolunteers from ‘Kick StartFakenham’, who will shareprofits with the FakenhamCommunity Centre.

For full details call LisaSmerdon on 01328 855172 ore-mail her at [email protected]

Fakenham Beer Festival

SPRING 2012 | 29

NORFOLK NIPS | Local Festival News

www.elgoods-brewery.co.uk

2nd Dragon Hall Beer Festivalto have a Belgium flavourDragon Hall¹s first Norfolk BeerFestival was a big hit for thevenue last year. Over 3 daysthe much loved, Grade 1 listedhistorical gem presented awide range of beers from allover Norfolk including thedebut of Tipples’ Dragon’sTipple, brewed specially forDragon Hall.

For the second festival therewill once again be as many alesfrom all over the county as theycan fit under the ancienttimbers of the magnificentcrown post roof but this timethere will also be a uniqueselection of bottle conditionedBelgian beers for sampling too.

Thanks to generous assistancefrom Norwich HEART organ-isers are undertaking diligentresearch to bring beers, musicand food from the beautifulcity of Ghent, Norwich’s‘semi official’ partner city since2009. All profits will helptowards the upkeep of DragonHall. www.dragonhall.org

The Dragon Hall Norfolk(and Belgium) Beerfestival 2012Friday 4th - Sunday 6th MayOpen Friday 6 11pm, Saturday12 to 3.30pm and 6 to 11pm,Sunday 12 to 3.30pmAdmission: Lunchtimes £5(Camra members £4), Evenings

£6 (Camra £5), includes £2beer vouchers and souvenirglass. Dragon Hall, 115-123King St, Norwich NR1 1QE01603 663 922

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Hmm, let’s see. What “C” qual-ifies as celebrating the finestthat Norfolk can offer the RealAle scene? I Know – Seaside!(Ah, apparently the Editor

insists that is cheating. He says Ican use that when “S” comesaround, which will be Issue 176,Spring 2016. Well, given thecurrent rate of erosion, by thenNorwich will be a coastal resort,so maybe I’ll wait!).

OK, let’s go for “Coast” (aposh name for the seaside,anyway). There is a lot of itabout, almost 100 miles in fact.Norfolk must be one of the fewcounties where you can standon a beach and watch the

sunrise, then cross the countyand watch it set whilst standingon another beach. It wraps thecounty nicely on three sides – Ionce knew a chap who hailedfrom Dereham, who said itshould go round all four sides,so that it would keep out us“furrenners”!

You have to admit that theNorfolk coastline is rich in it’sdiversity – seaside towns,dunes, marshes, cliffs, pineforests, sandy beaches, shinglebeaches, animal reserves, etc.And the really good bit is thatwherever you go, you arenever that far away from adecent pub.

Take the towns. I have losttrack of the number of timesthat I have been to GreatYarmouth, but I never rated it’spubs. Then came the TreasureHunt, organised by Rupert Eris,and some real gems wereunearthed. Like the MarinersTavern, for example, a fineexample of an ex-Lacons pub,with a warm welcome and agreat selection of beers. But it’sthe house style that gets me.The use of flints, ornatewindows and conspicuousfalcons abound – once youknow they are there you lookfor them, and appreciate themas well.

The Norfolk A to Z | NORFOLK NIPS

C is for…

30 | SPRING 2012

CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2011(NORWICH AND NORFOLK BRANCH)

01263 822609 or 01263 82600315-17 Wyndham Street, Sheringham Norfolk NR26 8BA

www.thewindhamarms.co.uk

Function Room available - Licensed Bar • Catering up to 65 people, 35 seated• Ideal for meetings, parties and special occasions • Parking Available

Only NORFOLK Cask Ales

** Try Our Greek Specials **

Homemade Locally-Sourced Food

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I’ve always loved Sheringham,not just because of The PoppyLine, but it has everything Iwant – great fish and chips, aninteresting museum, the prom-enade, the beach and theLifeboat Station. Oh, and a fewdecent pubs too. TheWindham Arms is always wortha visit, with it’s heady mix ofGreek hospitality and food andlocal ales. Pity Sheringham isnot closer so that we can do aCampaign Coach Trip thereone evening.

Another favourite is Wells.I love the quayside. I knew ashipping family, and I was onceinvited to Wells as they hadthree grain carriers mooredthere. Three of them, tripleparked across the water. Wehad to visit each one, climbingover the sides to get to thenext one. On each boat, wewere welcomed by the skipperwith a warm handshake andseveral beers. I don’t remembergetting back Quayside! Wherethey were moored is now TheAlbatross, and a pint of Wherryfrom the casks below decksbrings back the memories.

And you can take a miniaturerailway ride to the beach,which is a mile away, then walkaround to Holkham Bay,another favourite.

And then there is Horsey,which has everything. HorseyMere is the closest Broad to thesea – a mile away at the time ofwriting, but there are plenty ofphotos around, particularly inthe historic wind pump, toremind you that this is notalways the case. You can walkalong a path through themarshes to the deserted beach,where – in the winter – theremay be seals, or follow thepath back to the village, callingin at The Nelsons Head on theway. This is a great atmos-pheric pub, with a redtelephone box outside thefront entrance. Handy if youcannot get a mobile signal Ithought, until I realised it wasthe Smokers’ facility!

And the real beauty is thatyou do not necessarily have todrive, you can take the trainand the excellent CoastHopper Bus (as reported byWarren and Graham in anearlier edition of Nips).

(Note from the Editor: If youare out and about this summeron the coast, please take thecamera and send your photosinto me. We will include a selec-tion in the Autumn Edition).

SPRING 2012 | 31

The Nelsons Head

Below decks on The Albatross

In 2011 the Norfolk Taste Paneldecided to extend the scope of its’tasting to include Real Ale In ABottle (RAIB). This was partly tofollow national CAMRA policy,partly to ensure entries in theChampion Beer of Britain category,partly to foster better relations withlocal brewers, but mainly to meettogether and enjoy some qualitylocal ales. The first competitionwas won by Why Not’s ChocolateNutter. And a big thank you to allthe breweries that entered thecompetition.

Having learnt a lot in the firstrunning of the competition wehave decided to hold it again in2012. The competition is open toany commercial brewery in Norfolkproducing Real Ale in a Bottle.With round about 30 breweries inthe county, and 7 categories, wehave limited each brewery to nomi-nating 4 beers. This can obviouslyreviewed in the light of actualentries but potentially, the panelwill have 120 beers to taste. Amonumental challenge but one thepanel is uniquely equipped for.‘Blind’ tastings will take place, onecategory at a time, between Apriland September. All breweriesshould have received an entry formbut if any haven’t please contactme on 07810300535 or [email protected].

If any CAMRA member is inter-ested in joining the Taste Panelplease contact me using the samedetails. All you need is a willing-ness to drink real ale and the abilityto make your own mind up in theface of some forthright and spiriteddiscussions.

CheersAlan Edwards

Bottled Beerof NorfolkCompetition

NN#160_Layout 1 12/03/2012 21:55

Apollo Tavern | Northgate Street | Great Yarmouth | NR30 1BP

Good covered smoking area

10 mins walk from railway station

Ales from £2.00 a pint!

Up to EIGHT ever changing Cask Ales

32 | SPRING 2012

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SPRING 2012 | 33

NORFOLK NIPS | Competition

On the 19th April 2012, Sir Ian“Beefy” Botham will be walkingfrom Norwich City Centre toColtishall, via the Bure ValleyRailway at Wroxham. This ispart of “Beefy’s Great BritishWalk” to raise funds forLeukaemia and LymphomaResearch “Beating BloodCancers”.

The Humpty Dumpty Breweryare supporting this stage of thewalk by creating a limitededition, specially hoppedversion of their 4.1% ale –“Give it some Humpty.” Thename derives from the 1981Test Series against Australia,which will always be known as“Botham’s Ashes”.

Having just lost the captaincyfollowing the previous disas-trous test at Lords, Englandwere in dire straits at Headinglyand crashing to an Inningsdefeat. Until Ian Botham cameto the crease and said to

Batsman Graham Dilley“Right then, let’s havesome fun – Give it someHumpty!” Botham made149 Not Out and Englandamassed 356 in theirsecond innings, givingAustralia a meagre target of130 to win.However, superb bowling byBob Willis (8-43) destroyed theAustralian batting and theywere all out for 111. It proved to be the turningpoint and England secured theAshes with a 3 –1 series win.

The Humpty DumptyBrewery is giving onelucky Norfolk NIPS readerthe opportunity to win acase of 12 bottles of beerand a polo shirt.

To win, simply answer thefollowing question:In the 1991 Test Match at TheOval, Test Match SpecialCommentator Jonathan Agnew

said that Ian Botham was givenout ‘Hit Wicket’ because hefailed to get his leg over!

Who was the Test MatchSpecial Commentator whosomehow struggled on with hissummary, whilst collapsing intoan hilarious wheezing fit ofgiggles, as the CommentaryBox Team tried to keep quietduring the live broadcast?

Send your answer to NorfolkNIPS 160 Competition, 201Kingswood Avenue, Taverham,Norwich NR8 6GJ or [email protected] toarrive not later than 10/4/12.

Win a Case Of Beer fromHumpty Dumpty Brewery

Jazz UpdateOn Saturday 17th March, at the Recreation Centre,Bridewell Lane, Acle, there will be another appear-ance of Rod Mason and his Hot Five, whoare on their annual tour of this country from theirbase in Germany, and will again include formerlocal favourite Sean Moyses on banjo. The appear-ances of this band are always eagerly awaited bytraditional jazz fans, and another good nightshould be assured. This venue has a good selectionof real ales, and includes Adnams Bitter, TipplesRedhead and Theakstons Bitter. Enquiries - BrianDavis 01493 701880.

The Water Rats Jazz Band are getting readyfor their 48th annual tour of the Norfolk Broadsduring the week commencing Saturday 21st July,generously supported as always by Woodforde'sBrewery, but the big news here is that they are alsoplanning an extra visit to the area on the DiamondJubilee Weekend. It is anticipated that they will behere from Friday 1st June to Tuesday 5th June, andwhilst the itinerary is still in the planning stage, it isunderstood that their many ports of call willinclude Chedgrave White Horse on the Saturdayevening and Reedham Lord Nelson on the Mondaylunchtime. Watch out for the full itinerary in thelocal press, or visit the water rats web site for moredetails at www.water-rats.co.uk

NN#160_Layout 1 12/03/2012 21:56

34 | SPRING 2012

Perry is the fermented juice of pears. It has along history in northern France and the EnglishWest Midlands. Its production in Norfolk is lesscommon.

Just as special varieties of apple have beendeveloped for cider production there is a wholegroup of pear varieties suitable only forfermenting to make perry. Although, as withcider, perry can be made from eating fruit the'real thing' makes a totally different drink. Perry pears are generally small, hard , gritty,acidic and tannic. In a word – inedible! They arealso, like eating pears, rock hard one day andoverripe the next. Perry has therefore, with somejustification, a reputation for being more difficultto make than cider.

Whin Hill have always grown their own ciderapples to produce cider which in many ways ismore West Country than East Anglia in style. We follow the same route with perry, using ourown grown traditional varieties of perry pear.There have been few attempts to grow perrypears on a commercial scale in East Anglia. Aplanting of 25 trees at Aspall Hall in Suffolk in1908 produced trees that grew well but didn'tcrop and were cut down in 1930. We planted30 trees each of varieties Thorn and Brandy in1994 which began cropping within 5 years andnow yield around 3-4 tons a year. A further 90trees of various varieties including Moorcroft and

Yellow Huffcap were planted in 2005 and arejust starting to yield useful quantities. Its likelythat the very well drained and light soil hascontributed to slower growth and earlier crop-ping. Even so some of the 1994 trees are already25feet high and the later ones catching up atnearly 20 feet. In a good location a YellowHuffcap would grow to 70 feet tall and liveproductively for 300 years

Varieties have to be harvested separately andare generally shaken off the trees. Some pearshave to be pressed within a couple of days ofharvest and some need leaving for severalweeks. They have a nasty habit of going mushyinside while looking fine on the outside so needfrequent checks. The best flavour only developsa short time before collapse!

Like cider apples, perry pears in previouscenturies were crushed with a stone wheel beingpulled round a circular trough by a horse. Theresulting pomace was then stacked in a cheesewith straw or horsehair cloths to be pressed. This meant that the juice was in contact with thepulp for some hours and this has an importanteffect on the juice. Basically, first run juice – likethe pears themselves is unpalateably tannic.Long contact of the juice with the pulp drasti-cally reduces the tannin and improves theresulting perry. This fact probably meant thatpears were selected to grow which – with

Perry Productionat Whin Hill

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n ll

modern equipment would have not beendeemed suitable. So we have to mimic the effectof the old equipment by milling the pears andsetting them aside for several hours beforepressing. Although a bit of a palaver, the effecton the juice is magical.

Once the pears are pressed, the fermentation,blending and bottling of the perry is the same asfor cider. Perry does have a tendency to throw adeposit in bottles after several weeks of perfectclarity – but just a quirk of the real stuff! Most ofour perry is blended from the pears we harvestin any year but in 2011 we did manage toproduce a single variety Moorcroft.

Although perry pear trees are productive forhundreds of years, cidermakers are not. So this isa suitable moment to say that from April 2012Whin Hill will be under new ownership. JimFergusson and Peter Lynn who started the busi-ness in 1994 are passing the operation on toMark and Lisa Jarvis who with backgrounds infruit growing and food processing are well

equipped to carry on cider and perry productionfor years to come. They will look forward towelcoming customers old and new to the cider-works off the Stearmans Yard car park in Wellsfrom April.

SPRING 2012 | 35

NORFOLK NIPS | Perry Production

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 625891www.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 16th 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 • Late Night Opening

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36 | SPRING 2012

Norwich’s oldest pub

Norwich City of Ale FestivalBest Pub Award 2011

Open 11am -11 pm Mon to Sat 12 noon - 10.30pm Sun

Food served12 noon - 7pm Mon to Sat 12 noon - 5pm Sundays

17 Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ 01603 667423

Best Public House AwardNorwich in Bloom 2011

Makers of a range of award-winning organicciders, including our User Friendly, Original,Owld Norfolk (voted East Anglia’s best cider),

Special Reserve and our Rum Cask.

Also our Norfolk Perry (subject to availability)

Tel: 01379 687687www.crones.co.uk

Range of organic juices also available

New Inn Hill, Rockland St Mary Tel: 01508 538403

Freshly-cooked foodA range of ales • Beer Garden

Situated beside Rockland St Mary staithe, The New Innis a traditional country pub offering a warm welcomein a relaxed and informal setting.

Our food is freshly prepared using locally sourced ingredients and cooked to order. We have a large selection of ‘All-time favourites’, plus a variety of Chef’s Specials. Our Sunday Menu is very popular.

Cask Marque accredited, we always have 3 or 4real ales on offer.

Families, children,dogs and walkingclubs all welcome.

Visit www.newinnrockland.co.uk or our page to keep up to date

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Cider is an ancient andrespected beverage that has itsroots anchored in the orchardsof English agricultural history.Cider formed an essentialcomponent of farm workers’wages, was used to counterscurvy on ships and to cure a

range of illnesses including gout. Children wereeven baptised in it. A good apple harvest wastherefore important and to ensure a full crop forthe autumn season wassailing was carried outeach winter on the old Twelfth Night (which inthe pre-Gregorian calendar was January 17th).

Wassailing is a ceremony where singing anddancing secured the health of the trees. TheWassail King and Queen led the songs andprocessional tune to the orchard where a pieceof toasted bread soaked in the wassail-bowl waslodged in a bough as a gift to the good treespirits (represented by the robin). The evil spiritsmeanwhile were banished by a cacophony ofnoise that included firearms. Now to the allimportant wassail-bowl and its contents.

Drinking from the ribbon –decorated bowl wasan essential and social part of the ceremony. Thebowl was filled with hot mulled cider containingsugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and vanilla-and that toast! As the bowl was passed aroundthe assembled throng a different toast wasmade: waes hail (Middle English for “goodhealth”). And the hearty reply: drink hail. Thiswinter some local producers have experimentedwith mulled ciders. Historical recipes can beeasily found and it can be great fun to try theseout for yourself.

At least one wassailing ceremony took place ata newly planted orchard this January. Otherancient traditions that have participants drinkingcider to dispel the winter gloom were also afoot.Plough Monday always sees the Molly Dancersout and about and the Straw Bear at Whittleseyis an excellent occasion for cider consumption.

Next winter why not produce your ownwassail-bowl? Traditional Norfolk cider is readilyavailable from our local producers – but thisdoes bring us onto the question of what exactlydoes constitute a real cider? Current CAMRArules would not permit the wassail-bowl at theNorwich beer festival for example, and this issuehas stimulated heated debate recently. A letter inWhats Brewing pointed out that natural fruitcannot be used to complement ciders andperries, even though there are both historicaland logical reasons for this practise to occur.

Modern artisan cider producers are hamperedin their innovation by rules which forbid the useof fruit or spices, yet such strict rules do notapply to beer. Indeed, in the January 2012edition of Whats Brewing the GBG editor extolsthe use of sweet gale, bog myrtle, mugwort,yarrow, caraway and sage amongst other ingre-dients being used in a Belgian brewery. The contradictions and inconsistency of the rulesfor real ale, and for real cider are obvious.Recently, under what has been entitled “Fit forPurpose” review of CAMRA’s overall function,members views have been sought (via Applewebsite) on what should constitute real ciderand perry. Some feel the current rules are toorestrictive and actually penalise the new breed ofcraft cider makers and the Norfolk imbiberswho are willing to be adventurous and “drinkdifferent”. The review sounds a bit like bureau-cratic speak but revised definitions that removethe contradictions and permit people to drinkwhat they want would be welcomed by themajority of cider drinkers.

Finally, congratulations to the winner of theEast Anglian cider competition held at the 34thNorwich Beer Festival. Peter Blake produced hiswinning Hog and Vine cider in Martham. Niceone Blakey! Small presses now abound. Are weturning back the years to a time when we allgrow, make and then wassail our own?

Mont

Cider In Winter -Wassail your own!

SPRING 2012 | 37

NORFOLK NIPS | Cider

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38 | SPRING 2012

Angel Gardens Free House

This independently run freehouse has been under theownership of Ian Warren since 1988 and is situated on

the north of the city near to Waterloo Park.

Homecooked and speciality meals Prepared by Ian - a qualified chef with

years of experience.

Up to SEVEN reasonably priced RealAles including THREE guest ales

Monthly Quiz & Darts • Live Music on Saturdays

96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT

01603 427490email: [email protected]

www.norwichinns.com

THE GREYHOUND

An old Fashioned, traditional country pub.Serving a selection of Real Ales and Fine food.

Children’s play area and large car park.

A warm welcome from Rob and Fawnda to...

• TIBENHAM •

OPENING TIMESMonday: 12 - 3pm and 6.30pm - midnight

Tuesday: 6.30 - midnight.Wednesday: 12 - 3pm and 6.30pm - midnight.Thursday: 12 - 3pm and 6.30pm - midnight.Friday: 12 - 3pm and 6.00pm - midnight.

Saturday: 12 midday -12 midnight.Sunday: 12 midday - 12 midnight.

Carvery lunch Sunday afternoon 1pm - 3pm.Booking advisable 01379 677676.

The GreyhoundThe Street, TibenhamNorfolk NR16 1PZ

Tel: 01379 677676smithrjsmith@btinternetcom

Camping spacereadily available

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There has always been an on going debatebetween the North and South about how caskale should be served – with a thick creamy heador a looser frothier head? Which is better?

Most of my weeks are divided betweenworking for a few days in the South, and thentrying to head back north as the week goes onso I can spend Friday evening in a local pub.

And the way cask ale is served is markedlydifferent. Most pubs in the north dispense caskale using a sparkler – a little gadget which isattached to the beer spout to create a thickcreamy head through which the beer is drunk.All the aroma of the hops is encapsulated in thehead, and the liquid beneath tastes smoother.

The majority of pubs in the South dispensecask ale without a sparkler so the head is looser

and frothier. Most of the hop bitterness remainsin the beer so it has a more intense flavour, butless aroma.

The most common misconception amongstNortherners is that Southern beer is ‘flat’because it doesn’t have that tight head on thetop. Nothing could be further from the truth –any ale which tastes flat is beer that has lost allits condition. Good, well kept ale always givesyou a little tingle on the tongue – not fizzy likelager, but certainly not flat and lifeless.

Some Southern brewers would be horrified ifthey knew their beer was being dispensedthrough a sparkler, and vice versa, Northernbrewers may dictate a sparkler should always beused.

Very few London pubs possess a sparkler, letalone use one. But do I enjoy the beer any less?No – it’s just a different experience, andeveryone in the pub drinks it that way, so it can’tbe all that bad!

Maybe it’s the environment we drink the beerin. Most London pubs are packed with beerdrinkers at 5 o’clock, drinkers preferring to stayin the city before they tackle the journey home.

Here in the North, we tend to go home afterwork, have our tea, then go out again. We eachhave our habits and it doesn’t necessarily meanone is better than another.

Which goes back to my first point – which isbetter? And I don’t think there is a right and awrong answer, it’s entirely up to the individualhow they want their cask ale served. So if youwant to try a quick taste challenge, next timeyou’re in a pub ask for two halves of the samebeer – one poured with a sparkler, one without.You may be surprised how different they taste.

The Great North South Divide

SPRING 2012 | 39

NORFOLK NIPS | Guest Contributor

Our guest contributor is Annabel Smith, training manager at Cask Marque who writes an inter-esting article on the use of a sparkler in our pints

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40 | SPRING 2012

The big news recently has been the attempts bythe Parliamentary Business and Industry Committeeto end unfair practices by pub owning companiesthrough a tough and legally binding code.

To highlight this, the parliamentary beer grouporganised a meeting at the Houses of Parliament tocoincide with the report. As I volunteered to be theWest Norfolk CAMRA public affairs officer, Ireceived an invite to the meeting, and so it wasthat on a dark evening in late November I queuedup to clear security at Westminster. The rather offputting armed police became a lot more friendlywhen I declared that I was there for the beer, and itonly took a few minutes before I was through theairport style body scanners, in possession of myphoto I.D. card and wandering the through thelabyrinth of halls and corridors which make up thishuge building.

Eventually I found my way to the Wellingtoncommittee room, slightly disappointed not to benext door in the Peel room (as he was MP for Bury,the place of his birth). After a short wait spent chat-ting to other CAMA members and representativesof various business organisations, along with spot-ting familiar faces walking past (Ken Clarke doeswear brown Hush Puppies), it was into themeeting. After a short photo opportunity for MPsfeaturing, amongst others, Caroline Lucas of thegreen party, it was into the speeches. Thesefeatured the chairman, Greg Mulholland (LiberalDemocrat), Lord Bilston (Labour), and BrianBrindley (Conservative). All were united in sayingthat the publicans were getting a raw deal from thepub owning companies, and that the governmentmust take action. This was echoed in a fine speechby Mike Benner from CAMRA and various represen-tatives of the business community, along with somecurrent and ex publicans. It was good to see thatour local West Norfolk MP Henry Bellinghamresponded to my invite, and attended the meeting,and that in his correspondence with me he hasbeen very supportive. I have also had a very posi-tive response on the issue from Elizabeth Truss inSouth Norfolk.

Contrast this with the Mid Norfolk MP, GeorgeFreeman who does not respond to my correspon-dance.We finished with more pictures andeventually made our way out into the cold Londonnight full of hope and enthusiasm that somethingwill be done to improve that lot of publicans andhelp to prevent pub closures. This was reinforced afew days later when the House of Commons votedin favour a motion aimed at protecting tenants.

Meanwhile, back home, the Compasses in Snet-tisham has put in a planning application for changeof use, which, given the circumstances I felt thatthere was little point in opposing. The QueensArms in Kings Lynn has been sold, subject to plan-ning (the asking price was £300,000) and it seemsthat the intention is to turn it into some kind ofeducation centre, although I have not yet seen aplanning application.

Jeff

West Norfolk Article | NORFOLK NIPS

Campaigning Issues

The Real Ale Shop is a unique off-licence offering over 50 bottle conditioned ales

from 15 Norfolk brewers.

We are located on a beautiful arable farmclose-by Wells-next-the-Sea, which provides

much of the malt used in brewing the ales we sell.

The Real Ale Shop, Branthill Farm, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, NR23 1SB.

Tel: 01328 710810

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Readers may remember the 1953 EalingComedy, The Titfield Thunderbolt. Directed byCharles Crichton (The Lavender Hill Mob), it wasthe first from the studio to be filmed in colour. Ittold the story of a village whose railway line wasaxed by British Railways. Despite strong opposi-tion from the local bus company, they set aboutrestoring the line using whatever they couldbeg, borrow or steal. They had one monthbefore inspection to gain a Light Railway Order.

One of the “stars” of the film was a tramcarfrom the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, part ofthe National Railway Collection. There are onlytwo in existence and the second is on The NorthNorfolk Railway. Some time ago, a decision wasmade by the owners, The Midland and NorthernJoint Railway Society, to restore it to it’s formerglory.

But it’s better than that. In the film, wealthyWalter Valentine (Stanley Holloway) is persuaded

to invest in the venture by a promise that itwould be legal to serve alcohol all day – hewouldn’t have to wait for the pubs to open. Tothis end, a bar was created in the tramcar,complete with beer barrel.

And so, the North Norfolk Tramcar has it’s ownbar, complete with a wooden pin, thanks toColin Keatley of The Fat Cat! Alas, no beer – yet!It is anticipated that the tramcar will form part ofthe Vintage Set, which will run on certain daysof the year.

The Titfield Thunderbolt in North Norfolk

SPRING 2012 | 43

NORFOLK NIPS | Titfield Thunderbolt

Pictures copyright Geoffery King and MelvynMassen.

The pub with no bar, ales direct from cask.

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

Tongue twizzling food, and great value.

Huge garden • Summer barbecue

Victory Barn Function Room

for Weddings and Parties

Come & visit Nelson’s local.

Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk PE31 8HN

01328 738241

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44 | SPRING 2012

See www.kingsarmsnorwich.co.uk for details

Everchanging 13 Real Ales, Cider and Mild.Popular Quiz Night last Wednesday of every month

Occasional live Music – see website or phone for details

Food served: Tuesday - Sunday 11.30am - 3pmwith Roast dinner every Sunday from 12.30

Eat your takeaway in the pub - plates and cutlery provided!

Michaela and Rik welcome you to

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

See all of Norwich City’s matches (Home and Away!)

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SPRING 2012 | 45

Norwich and North Norfolk Branch

Tuesday 20th MarchBranch 2012 AGMTake 5, Norwich. 8pm(You must be a member to attend – don’t forgetyour Membership Card).

Friday 23rd MarchCampaign Trip - Route TBA

Friday 6th AprilFirst Friday FiveVisiting five pubs in Norwich, linked to CAMRA’sCommunity Pubs Month. Route TBA

Tuesday 17th AprilBranch Committee MeetingThe Marsham Arms, Hevingham

Friday 27th AprilCampaign Trip - Route TBA

Friday 4th MayFirst Friday FiveVisiting five pubs in Norwich, which hopefully willbe serving Mild

Tuesday 15th MayBranch Committee MeetingUEA, Norwich

Friday 26th MayCampaign Trip - Route TBA

Friday 1st JuneFirst Friday FiveVisiting five pubs in Norwich - Route TBA

Tuesday 19th JuneBranch MeetingThe Windham Arms, Sheringham.

Apart from the AGM, you do not have to be a

member to attend any of these events, but ifyou do and you enjoy it, you are more thanwelcome to join. Just come along!However, for coach trips, please contact MichaelPhilips to book your seat on the coach and let usknow where you want to be picked up.

Pick up points: 6.47pm junction of SouthwellRoad/Grove Road, 6.55pm junction of OldPalace Road/ West End Street, 7.10pm Heart-sease Roundabout (Harvey Lane side) 7.15pmRailway Station (Thorpe Road Bus Stops).

For more details and updates, please check thefull calendar on www.norwichcamra.org.uk

NEW – Updates on the First Friday Fives can alsobe found at Firstfridayfives.blogspot.com

All Branch Meetings start at 8pm.

West Norfolk Branch

Branch meetings (All include social)

Tuesday 10th April Cock, WiggenhallMagdalene Tuesday 8th May, Kings Head, Great BirchamSaturday 19th May, Cambridge Crawl Tuesday 12th June, West End, Feltwell

CAMRA Calendar

Got a short pint? If you believe that you have been treated unfairly ina pub, club or bar, you should contact the TradingStandards service by writing to them at NorfolkTrading Standards Service, County Hall, MartineauLane, Norwich, NR1 2UD or faxing them on 01603 222999.

A wide range of consumer information and adviceis also available online from the Consumer Directwebsite at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

NORFOLK NIPS | Dates for your diary

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46 | SPRING 2012

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, NorfolkTel: (01986) 892623

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Yes folks, it’s that time of yearto pen the West NorfolkCAMRA Xmas pub crawl report2011, just as spring is in the air(sort of, it is mild as I writethis!). I know you all out therein Nips readerland look forwardto this, you know you do, solet’s get going. This is the realale equivalent of, “ExtremeFishing with Robson Green”,only less boring and a wholelot more fun! Hail the Ale!!!

We started by eatingcottages, no hold on, started atthe Eaton Cottage on MountPleasant (phew, think I gotaway with that!), a good crowdin early assembled for the off. Ithank the landlord for openingup early just for us, I began theday with Wolf Golden Jackal(Howwwlllllll!!!), and a half ofExmoor Gold (nice X2). Overthe road and around the cornerto the crazily titled Mad MooseArms (Warwick Street), a familyrun pub which has a chain publook to it, again many thanksto them for opening early(must be Xmas spirit!), gooddrop of Grain Xmas sampled.Joined by more crawlers, wewere up to a healthy 20 at thispoint, great! A quick traverse ofthe nearby backstreets foundus at the Garden House(Pembroke Road), a nice pubwe’d been in on a Xmas crawlmany moons ago (rememberwe had over 40 people on thatoccasion, lunch was wild!),supped Woodforde’s Sundewas myself and Nige attempted

chalk-less pool, we did okayand tied 1-1. Found our waynext to the Earlham Road andthe Black Horse, a good pubwith a fair choice from which Ichose Crouch Vale BrewersGold, a fave drop of mine.

Across the road is the EarlhamArms, a new pub on the scenesporting 8 or 9 real ales, nicecold snacks too (yummyScotch eggs!), tried someWoodforde’s Tinsel Toes whichwas lovely. Sad footnote, I hearthe Earlham Arms has sinceclosed, nothing to do with us Ihave to say (we’re not Vikingbeer warriors!), I believe it hassomething to do with liveairing of Norwich City FChome games, a big shame butmaybe the pub will live again.

More backstreets! To whatmust be my top Norwich pub,The Alexandra on StaffordStreet, not only superb ales butexcellent food , once again meand Nige were at the pooltable (still tied 2-2), enjoyed adelicious chicken tarragon dish,just dishy, with my RudgateJorvik Blonde. Totally Viking,dude. Ah, the Fat Cat on WestEnd Street, things sort ofunraveled a bit here but nevermind, as long as everyoneenjoyed themselves. Myselfand Nige stayed longer thanscheduled, my ales were DarkStar American Pale (my ale ofthe day), and Green JackMahseer. Got the munchies sohad some chips en route,

passing The Plough (not on thelist) we thought it rude not togo in, so we did! A half of myfave Grain Blonde Ashe did thetrick and we were on our wayattempting to catch up withthe rest. Popped into the Plas-terers (Cowgate), a crackingpub with 15 real ales, andCAMRA members get adiscount (good to know inthese hard times), and you canbring your takeaway food in toeat, nice pint of Wolf GrannyWouldn’t Like It. We managedto find some stragglers in theWetherspoon’s pub, TheGlasshouse, very busy, moreWolf and Golden Jackal again.And that was it for me, had toleave to catch my train home.

I’m not sure if anyone visited allthe pubs on the list, I missedout the Old White Lion, Play-house Bar, and The Vine (butthe Plough was extra!), soapologies for not makingthose, save them for anotherday. If you did then well done,jolly good show and stiff upperlip, old boy! Thanks to all whoattended, from what I hear allhad a good time, and that’s theimportant thing, I know I had agreat day. The 2012 Xmascrawl is already in theadvanced planning stages, youhave been warned!!!

See you in December.Cheers!!!!!

Timbo

Crimbo with Timbo

SPRING 2012 | 47

NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk CAMRA Xmas Pub Crawl

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48 | SPRING 2012

The end of October every yearis a time I really look forwardto, particularly Norwich BeerFestival week, a week I book offwork well in advance, don’twant to miss this great event. If real ale has a ‘Mecca’ thenthis festival is it for me! The34th Norwich Beer Festival lastOctober in St Andrews & Black-friar’s Halls marked a significantanniversary for yours truly,being my 25th consecutive visitto this wondrous event, a beerysilver jubilee since my debuthere back in 1986.

That first visit in 1986 wasfairly memorable. Myself andlong time drinking buddy Stigtimed our lunch session entrybadly, arriving about 15minutes before ‘time’, so I hadtime for a quick pint, but thatpint was one Bateman’s Victory(bit of a strong one!). We timedit better that evening, thoughthat quick pint put me in a nicerelaxed state of mind! Over theyears we’ve got going to theNorwich Beer Festival down toa fine art, though the queueshave grown longer over theyears, you used to be able tostart lining up after 11am, noweven turning up an hour beforeopening you’ll see some keendrinkers (the evening sessionqueues are unbelievable).

A popular festival not only forCAMRA members (I think Ijoined CAMRA at the NorwichBeer Festival), but alsoattracting regular and casualreal ale drinkers, especially from

nearby businesses, it cannot bea bad thing if the festivalconverts people to realale. The festival continues toevolve, such as the opening upof Blackfriars Hall a number ofyears back (the Tuesday lunchsession has turned into a sort ofmeeting point for West NorfolkCAMRA over the years), andthe Foreign Beer Bar marqueehas proves an excellent addi-tion, not to mention the cider& perry bar in the main hall.And you have to love the pubgames, plus the Tombola, whocan forget the cry of, “Anotherwinner on the tombola!!!”.What really makes this such afun event year after year is allthe familiar faces, all volun-teering their time to make thisa superb experience, it’swonderful to chat with all thefriends I’ve made over thistime, almost like a beer family!I’ve volunteered now and then,but would like to thank all thepeople who give up their ownvaluable time to make thefestival the special one it is,cheers me dears!!!

I came full circle last October,as I finished the Thursday lunchsession with the every ale Istarted with back in 1986, oneBateman’s Victory (althoughnot the same barrel I trust!),good to see this beer andbrewery still going, with brew-eries coming and going sofrequently these days. Will Imake it another 25 NorwichBeer Festivals? Good healthand the good Lord willing I

hope so, if I do I’ll be a ripe old75!!! I raise my glass to thegood ship Norwich BeerFestival and all who sail in her,here’s to continued success formany years to come, cheersagain!!!

Tim Spitzer

New CAMRA ComplimentaryBrewery Clubs

Four new clubs have beenintroduced: Marston’s islaunching their new Club witha brewery tour for one memberand three of their friends. Thewinner will have the chance tolearn about the history of thebrewery and sample some ofMarston’s finest ales. Wych-wood is offering one memberthe chance to win a Wych-wood Mini Cask plus a tour ofthe brewery for them and 3friends. Join now to receivefurther competitions and newsfrom the brewery. Braks-pear have also teamed up withCAMRA to offer members addi-tional benefit. This monthBrakspear is offering onemember the chance to win abranded Tankard plus a tour forthem and 3 friends.

You can book a tour ofBanks’s Park brewery andtry your hand at being a HeadBrewer. Touch, smell andexplore the raw natural ingredi-ents, learn about the brewingprocess from grass to grain andsee how traditional brewingmethods have evolved.

Norwich Beer Festival reminisce | NORFOLK NIPS

25 Norwich Beer Festival Years

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rsIt seems very appro-priate here to lookback to Issue 1,dated July 1982.

Under the headline“We’ve made it!” itproudly proclaimedthat the purpose ofthe newsletter wastwofold:“Firstly to informordinary beer

drinkers about CAMRA and it’s aims, andsecondly to provide for CAMRA members asupply of news about local pubs, beers, brew-eries and local CAMRA campaigns.”

It was hoped that Norfolk Nips would act as aforum in which members throughout the countycould pass on information to others. Contribu-tions were invited in the form of articles, lettersand competitions on a real ale theme.

Also in Issue No. 1, it was announced that the1982 edition of “Real Beer in Norfolk” listed all500 pubs in the county where real ale was sold.There was also a plug for the 1982 NorwichBeer Festival. It was reported that the 1981Festival experienced unprecedented demandand beer supplies began to run out on Fridayevening. In order to prevent this happeningagain, “considerably more Beer” was beingordered. For the first time, the Festival would

open on Saturday morning and an extensionwas being sought so that they could remainopen until late in the afternoon.

Pub News told us that Norwich Brewery hadstarted to replace Norwich Bitter with WebstersBitter in their pubs, and some concern wasexpressed that it was the keg version that wasappearing in some cases.

Greene King were relaxing their “Fizzy BeerPolicy” and, following campaigning by theNorwich Branch of CAMRA, The Windmill inPlumstead Road was the latest GK pub toconvert to Real Ale.

Nigel Thompson proclaimed that North Norfolkwas a “Real Ale Paradide” with 65% of it’s pubsselling real ale, compared to only 50% in the city,with Cromer and Sheringham leading the way.

Two adverts were carried in this issue – one forThe Ten Bells “the smallest free house inNorwich” and Woodforde’s Norfolk Ales.

Under “CART (Campaign for Real Take Away)”we learned that CAMRA, with the backing of theNational Union of Licensed Victuallers, werelaunching a scheme to provide free containersfor the take home of draught beer.

And “Real Ale” is now an official term havingmade it into the Oxford Dictionary’s latestSupplement.

From the ArchivesNORFOLK NIPS | From the Archives

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50 | SPRING 2012

8 Keelan Close, Norwich NR6 6QZ

Tel. 01603 [email protected] www.wintersbrewery.co.uk

SearchWinter’s Brewery

@wintersbrewery

Open All Day Every DayAt Least 5 Local Real Ales Always On Tap

Food Served Daily

Large Function Room With Bar For Hire

Catering For Weddings Birthdays Parties Ect

Bed And Breakfast And Camping 10% Discount For CAMRA Members

Station Rd, North Elmham Tel: 01362 668300

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For the second year running, the awards presenta-tions were made at The Fat Cat Brewery Tap inNorwich. They were certainly proud to be hostingit again and produced tasting notes for eightwinning beers which were on sale that night.

Our chosen charity, The Priscilla Bacon Lodgewere on hand to receive a cheque for£3.300.00, which will go towards providingsome home comforts for the relatives of thosespending some time there.

SPRING 2012 | 51

NORFOLK NIPS | Awards

The 34th Norwich Beer Festival

Awards Night

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With Day, Jubi has to g in o even com

Wi man UK, chan real tried brew com able tion an ‘a and tasti

George’s Fest 2012 Thursday 19th - Monday 23rd April

Over 30 cask ales and traditional ciders

CAMRA NorwichCity Pub of the Year

2011

Live Music every

Friday & Sunday

Quiz Night last Monday of the Month

Tapas Night first Thursday of the month

NN#160_Layout 1 12/03/2012 21:57

Norfolk Pub Beer Festivals - Spring / Summer 2012Beer Festivals

Spring / Summer 2012

With such events as St George’sDay, the Queens DiamondJubilee and the Olympics therehas never been a better excuseto get down your local and joinin one of the hundreds ofevents planned over thecoming months.

With there never being somany micro-breweries in theUK, not only will you get thechance to sample a variety ofreal ales you may never havetried before - including thosebrewed specially for thecoming occasions - you’ll beable to try your hand at tradi-tional pub games, take part inan ‘ale-trails’ and history walksand learn how this greattasting drink is brewed.

Of course there’s more topubs than beer and skittles,with 84% of people believingthat a pub is as essential tovillage life as a shop or postoffice; and the closure of a pub– especially in areas that lackother social amenities - can bedevastating for the localcommunity.

A well-run pub can cater forall ages, offering a place wherefriendships can be formed andprovides a convenient stoppingpoint for a family enjoying abike ride on a sunny day. Tohelp you plan your travel toand from these events we havealso included a brief guide tobus and train travel and whereto find further information andtimetables.

If you’re watching thepennies, but still want to enjoythe finer things in life then thepub offers the ideal solution.From old favourites like steakand kidney pie to the exotictastes of Thai cuisine, manypubs offer high quality meals –often cooked by awardwinning chefs .

From acts including Madnessand Vic Reeves, pubs have evenbeen responsible for kick-starting the careers of some ofthe biggest names in musicand comedy. You never know;one of the acts playing in a pubnear you could be a star of thefuture. So whether you want aquick pint after work or a nightout with your friends; look in atthe local, you won’t regret it.

2 ril

ht ay th

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1

For more details contact:- Clive and Sue Stockton, The Hill House Inn, Happisburgh, Norfolk NR12 OPW Tel/Fax 01692 650004 Web www.hillhouseinn.co.uk

Hill House Inn - Happisburgh

FREE PRINTED FESTIVAL GLASS AND TASTING NOTES.

Food served all day inc BBQFestival T-Shirts available

Come and join us at the independent festival by the sea. Celebrate the 12th Solstice festival and 4 centuries of the Hill House.

The12th

For 2012: FIVE DAYS

Thursday 21st June to Monday 25th June inclusive

Over 100 Beers & Ciders (and the odd perry) from far and wide,

at competitive pub prices.

LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT inc. Rock, Traditional Jazz, Rockabilly, Skiffle, Folk and much more.

Family Friendly

CAMPING AVAILABLEOne Off Entry payment of £5.00 valid for the

whole weekend. (Numbered wristband).

Dereham & District Conservative Club

7 Quebec Street, Dereham Norfolk, NR19 2DJ (Behind the Market Place)

Club Office Contact 01362 693616

Free Entry to CardCarrying Members inc CAMRA

Non - memberscharity donation at the door

Up to 12 Guest Cask Ales + 2 RegularsGood Friday EveningSaturday noon till CloseSunday Lunch -17:00

Up to 12 Guest Cask Ales + 2 RegularsGood Friday EveningSaturday noon till CloseSunday Lunch -17:00

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Fri 23rd - Sat 24th MarchFakenham Beer Festival,Fakenham Community Centre20 Real Ales and Ciders

Fri 30th March - 1st AprilWhite Horse, Overstrand5th Beer Festival

Thurs 5th – Sun 8th April Locks at GeldestonAnnual Beer & Music FestivalMusic: Thurs – Folk, Fri- Folk Rock,Sat – Ska, Sun – Country

Fri 6th – Mon 9th April Union Jack, RoydonBeer Festival

Fri 6th - Mon 9th AprilLord Nelson, ReedhamEaster Beer Festival, live musicevery night

Fri 6th - Tues 10th AprilRoyal Oak, PoringlandEaster Beer Festival

Fri 6th – Sun 8th April Dereham Conservative ClubEaster Beer Festival • 14 Real Ales

Sat 7th - Mon 9th AprilBell Inn, RickinghallPie and Ale weekend

Thurs 19th - 23rd AprilCottage,NorwichAnnual Beer & Music FestivalLive Music every evening

Fri 20th - Mon 23rd AprilGreen Gate CaisterSt Georges Beer Festival

Fri 27th - Sun 29th AprilFox and Hounds, Heacham10th Anniversary bands and beer

Fri 4th - Sun 6th May, DragonHall, NorwichBeer Festival • wide range of ales

City of Ale, Norwich - 31st May – 12th June

Thurs 31st May – Wed 6thJune White Horse, ChedgraveDiamond Jubilee Beer FestivalLive Music and Family Day

Fri 1st June - Green Dragon,WymondhamSpring Beer Festival weekend withlive music

1st - 5th JuneButchers Arms, East RustonBeer Festival • 12 Ales and 1 Cider

Fri 1st - Tues 5th JuneCrown, BanninghamJubilee Beer Festival

Fri 1st - Tues 5th JuneGreen Gate CaisterQueens Jubilee Beer Festival

Fri 1st - Tues 5th JuneLord Nelson, ReedhamQueens Diamond Jubilee BeerFestival, live music from 8.80pmeach night

Sun 3rd - Tues 5th JuneKing’s Head, Great BirchamDiamond Jubilee Beer Fesival • 30 Real Ales

Thurs 21st - Mon 25th JuneHill House, Happisburgh12th Solstice Beer Festival 100+ beers and ciders

Fri 22nd – Sun 24th JuneCaister Lifeboat ShedBeer in the Boat Shed Festival 30 Real Ales & Ciders

22nd - 24th JuneJolly Sailors, Brancaster3rd Norfolk Ale and Music Festival

25th - 30th JuneVine, Norwich‘Small but perfectly formed’ BeerFestival

Thurs 28th June - Sun 1st JulyBeehive, NorwichSummer Beer Festival

Thurs 19th - Sun 22nd JulyHeathlands CommunityCentre, Blofield HeathSummer Fair and Beer Festival

Fri 20th - Sun 22nd JulyLodge Bar, NorthTuddenham2nd Summer Beer Festival

Fri 20th - Sun 22nd JulyCrusaders RFC, Little MeltonCrusaders Beer Festival • 20 RealAles and Ciders • Camping available

Sat 28th JulySouth Green Park, Mattishall7th Beer Festival • Over 50 RealAles • Live Music

Fri 10th - Sun 12th AugustRanworth Village Hall3rd Summer Beer Festival 18+ Real Ales, 4 Ciders

Out of Local Area

25th - 29th AprilCAMRA Bury St Edmunds Beer Festival

Mon 21st—Sat 26th May Cambridge & District CAMRA39th Cambridge Beer FestivalJesus Green 200 plus Real Ales • 60 plusCiders and Perries

A beer festival is near you! Beer Festivals section

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A beer festival is near you!The numbers on the map match the numbers next to the events described on page 55. This map is to show you the g

Roydon

West Acre

Gt. Massingham

Little Walsingham

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Feltwell

Brancaster Staithe

Rickinghall

Gt. Bircham

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show you the general area and is not to scale!

Beer Festivals section

Geldeston

Poringland

Heydon

Filby

North Lopham

tle Walsingham

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Geldeston Locks InnLocks Lane, Geldeston

NR34 0HW Tel: 01508 518414

APRIL 5th to 8th -EASTER BEER & MUSIC FESTIVAL

Folky Friday Night with Murphys Lore & support bands 8pmSaturday Live Bands 8pm Country Sunday Live country bands from 1pm

FREE ENTRY ALL SESSIONS

SUNDAY MAY 6th - MAY FAYREMurphys Lore, Mummers, Storytelling, Maypole Dancing, Morris Dancing, Crowning the May Queens 1pm - 8pm

JUNE 16TH - LOCKSTOCKAll day folk, folk-rock and roots music festival noon to 1am

Go to www.geldestonlocks.co.ukfor more information on our events, parties and music line-up

Summer opening Hours OPEN ALL DAY EVERYDAY FROM 12 NOON

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Travelling around NorfolkNorfolk is well served by train and bus servicesbetween all the major towns, villages and out ofNorfolk via Kings Lynn and Norwich. There arealso many cycle and walking routes available forthe more adventerous beer hunter or those withfamilies looking for a full day out with someexcercise thrown in.

Greater Anglia and East Midlands Trainsand East Midland TrainsServices run everyday into Norfolk from Ely,Peterborough, Cambridge and Ipswich.

All services pass through Norwich where youcan then go on to the coastal Norfolk towns ofGreat Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Cromer and Sheringham.

Go to www.greateranglia.co.ukor www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk to check times

Heritage Train servicesMid Norfolk RailwayTravelling between Dereham - Yaxham -Thuxton - Kimberley Park - Wymondham Abbey

This volunteer run railway has a variety of locomotives including a fleet of heritage diesels.Go to www.mnr.org.uk to check times.

The North Norfolk RailwayTravelling between Sheringham - Weybourne -Kelling Heath Park - Holt

The North Norfolk Railway offers a 10.5 mileround trip by steam train (vintage diesel trainson some journeys) through a delightful area ofNorth Norfolk designated as being ofoutstanding natural beauty.

Go to www.nnrailway.co.uk/timetable.php tocheck times.

Bus ServicesNorfolk Green run a number of Bus services into

and around Norfolk.The Coasthopper route sets off from Kings

Lynn and covers Hunstanton - Wells -Weybourne - Sheringham - Comer and many ofthe smaller villages in between.

Other services include X8 covering Kings Lynnto Fakenham and Heacham.

X5 and X6 services from Fakenham to Norwichcovering many villages including Little Snoring,Erpingham. Aylsham and Mile Cross.

There is a large map of the routes available fordownload at:www.norfolkgreen.co.uk/timetables/

The X1 First group service runs into Norfolkfrom Peterborough passing through Kings Lynn,Narborough, Swaffham and several othervillages to Norwich. The service then runs onthrough Acle and Great Yarmouth.

CyclingNorfolk has hundreds of miles of quiet countrylanes and roads to explore. To help you, East ofEngland Tourism has developed a range of Freecircular Cycling Discovery Maps. These are available at:www.visiteastofengland.com/visitor-information/cycling-discovery-maps2.aspx

The Sustrans National Cycle Network passesthrough Norfolk and is designed to makecycling fun, safe and simple as you cover hugestretches of the UK.

One third of the Network is completely freefrom motor traffic, using old railway paths,forest tracks, country parks and bridleways, andthe rest uses quiet minor roads and traffic-calmed streets in towns and cities. so ifyour having a drink - get out of the car and onyer bike!

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One course for £4.95 2 courses for £6.953 course for £8.95

SUNDAY CARVERY

Function room available for all occasions including parties, birthdays, christenings, wedding receptions and wakes

ST GEORGES BEER FESTIVALApril 20th-23rd

8 local ales and 4 ciders

QUEENS JUBILEE • 5 DAY FESTIVAL 1st - 5th June, selection of up to EIGHT

local ales, FOUR ciders and THREE moreales on the pub bar!

Live Music every SaturdayCheck our web site or Facebook page for whats on.

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SPRING 2012 | 61

Simon and Karen welcome you all to theirtraditional family pub.

www.whitehorsechedgrave.co.uk

Great selection of real ales and wines, along with an extensive menu and excellent company.

Diamond Jubilee Beer Festival

31st May - 6th JuneSunday 3rd June

Water Rats Jazz BandTuesday 5th June Family Day Teddy Bears Picnic

Phone us on (01508) 520250 to find out more

Beer in the Boat Shed

Friday 22 – Sunday 24 June

Featuring around 30 Real Ales and Ciders

Including Blackfriars, Humpty Dumpty, Panther, Wolf and Woodfordes

Music, Games and fun entertainment too!

ENTRY JUST £5 INCLUDES FIRST PINTSOUVENIR PINT GLASS £2

Caister Lifeboat’s

At CaisterLifeboat ShedFri night: 6 to 10.30pmSat: 12 noon to 11pm

with The Scratch Band (pm)Sun: 12 noon til we’re dry (or4pm) with Annie’s Jazz Friends

All profits to Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service

See more details in our nextadvert in the Summer edition

of Norfolk Nips

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62 | SPRING 2012

Traditional Country Pub and Restaurant4 Real Ales • Great Food• Sheltered Patio and Gardens

Colby Road, Banningham, Aylsham, NR11 7DY01263 733534

www.banninghamcrown.co.uk

THE BANNINGHAMCROWN FREE HOUSE

We are in it!

JUBILEE BEER FESTIVAL

Friday Ist June - Tuesday 5th JuneLocal and National Ales. Ciders.

Bar Open All Day

2nd Summer Beer Festival

Fri 20th - Sun 22nd JulyOver 20 local ales & ciders plus the regular bar

Main Road, North Tuddenham NR20 3DJ01362 638466 www.thelodge-tuddenham.co.uk

July 20th open noon - 11pm. Live Music 8 - 10pm

July 21st Live Music all day &all night. Headline act - Againstall odds. Food stalls, Childrensbouncy castle and much more!

22nd July Noon - 11pm - justgood ole beer!

Win a Meal for Two!

Register your names in advance by email to

[email protected] confirm your attendanceon the day for a chance towin a meal for two.

FREE ENTRY!

3rd Norfolk Ale & Music Festival22,23 & 24 June 2012Norfolk real ales • Live music all weekendBeer garden • Freshly cooked pub food

Oak Lane, East Ruston, Norfolk. NR12 9JG

Look out on our website

www.thebutchersarms.biz for lots of spring/summer events

Tel:01692 650237 e-mail: [email protected]

Beer Festival 1st – 5th June 2012supported by Wolf Brewery, Attleborough.

There will be 12 breweries representedserving 12 beers and 1 cider.

Blackfriars • City of Cambridge • Earl Soham • Grain Green Jack • Mauldons • Nethergate • Panther • Wolf

Bees • Courage • Crones

Opening Times: Fri 1st: 7-11pm Sat 2nd: 12noon - 2pm and 7 - 11pm

Sun 3rd: 12noon - 2pm and 7 - 10.30pmMonday 4th and Tuesday 5th: 12noon - 11pm

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Summer

Beer Fe

stival

Thurs 28th Jun

e - Sunday 1st July

Over 25 Ea

st Anglian beers

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Great real ales, fine wines and spirits.Food Served: Monday- Friday 11am - 5pm Saturdays 11am - 3pm Sundays 11am - 3pm

Evening meals on requestRoast Dinners Sundays 12-3pm

Chilled bar rolls made daily only £1.00

Attleborough’s only Good BeerGuide pub 2010, 2011 & 2012

Camra Discount Scheme & Local Ale

Parking, Disabled facilities, Baby changing,Smokers sheltered garden, and Beer garden.

Well behaved dogs on leads welcome.

Church St, Attleborough Tel :01953 457415

The LondonTavernFree House

Mark & Marie offer you a warmwelcome to the

Fox and Hounds Heacham

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

Live Music every Tuesday Quiz Night Thursday

27th - 29th AprilBand and BeerFox Brewery Celebrates its 10th

Anniversary of Brewing in Heacham

www.foxbrewery.comTel: 01485 570345

22 Station Rd, Heacham, Norfolk PE31 7EX

OPEN ALL DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK

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Easter Beer FestivalMusic starts from 8.30pm each night

Good Friday 6th AprilThe A.J Experience; solo vocals

impressions and comedy

Saturday 7th AprilJohn Noble; solo vocals - Jazz Swing

Sunday 8th AprilJon Collerick; Folk

Monday 9th AprilChrissy Stone; 50’s MOD

Saturday 21st April

‘Shipwrecked’ St Georges DayAll the old favourites plus themed beers

Queens Diamond Jubilee Beer Festival

Music starts from 8.30pm each night

Friday 1st JuneTalisman; Folk Rock

Saturday 2nd JuneMidnight Special; Blues

Sunday 3rd JuneJon Collerick; Folk

Monday 4th JuneThe Water Rats; Traditional Jazz

Tuesday 5th JuneWitchhazel; Folk Jazz (4pm)

38 Riverside, Reedham NR13 3TE

www.lordnelsonpub.com01493 701548

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

Telephone: 01379 898 445Email: [email protected]

www.thebellrickinghall.co.uk

The Bell Inn, The Street, Rickinghall, Norfolk IP22 1BN

Whether you are visiting us for business or pleasure we will endeavour to ensure your stay with

us will always exceed your expectations.

We are open all day every dayWe now serve food all day every day including breakfast Sunday Lunch served all day 12:00 - 9:00

The Bell Inn is a family owned and run Country Hotelwith ample Free Parking and Patio Garden.

• 8 En-suited Bedrooms • The Chimes Restuarantseating up to 30 guests • Private Function Suite • Bespoke menus tailored to suit all functions • Warm & friendly atmosphere • Five Real Ales

PIE & ALE

WEEKENDSat 7th to Mo

n 9th April

EASTER WEEKEND

Large Selection of Real Ale

s

and Ciders to wash down

our

homemade pies

Live Music all Weekend

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66 | SPRING 2012

KINGS HEAD HOLT6 BRILLIANTLY KEPT REAL ALES

Including the ever popular Adnams Bitter, Broadside and Woodfordes Wherry. Proudly providing 3 guest ales (143 in one year and rising!)

Giving everyone a fantastic accompaniment to our ever growing grill menu. So why not try a deliciouslocally sourced steak cooked to perfection on our char-grill!

3 stylish, comfortable, yet affordable B&B rooms for single, double or family use

Recently re-furbished ‘George’ Lounge with Snugs and quiet cornersCome pull up a stool, grab an Ale at ‘The Question mark Bar’ and put the world to rights!

Live music throughout Spring, Summer and AutumnEnclosed Courtyard Beer Garden in the heart of the Appleyard

To find out more you can visit our website http://www.kingsheadholt.org.uk/, give us a call on 01263 712543, or just come on down and give us a try, you won’t be disappointed!

COAST ROAD, WALCOTT,NORFOLK NR12 OPE

Telephone(01692) 650371

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMOREFREE HOUSE

OPEN FOR FOOD & DRINKS ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, 11am - 11pmFood available all day until 10.30pm10% off food and drink on production of CAMRA membership card

www.lighthouseinn.co.uk

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER

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She’s a lady in red, she’s iconic, and she certainlyturns heads wherever she goes. “She” is thedouble decker bus which has become synony-mous with The City of Ale Festival. CAMRAmember Peter Wells first suggested that The Cityof Ale Festival might be interested in using oneof The Eastern Transport Collection Societybuses, and he was not wrong.

OVF 229 caused quite a stir when she ran fromthe centre of Norwich to Mousehold Heath forthe initial photoshoot last year. City of Ale areobviously delighted that she will available againfor the Festival this year, and so is The EasternTransport Collection Society, whose Chairman isRichard Dixon, also a CAMRA member.

Richard told me that The Eastern TransportCollection Society was formed as the EasternCounties Omnibus Society in 1969 by a groupof local enthusiasts, converting to an EducationalCharity in 1984. In 1971 the Society purchaseda 1954 Bristol LD5G (The City of Ale bus), oncefleet number LKD229 with the Eastern CountiesOmnibus Company. Over the years other exECOC buses have been added and they nowown seven buses, some roadworthy and othersawaiting restoration. The oldest is a 1950 BristolLL single-decker and the latest arrival is a 1979Bristol VR new to Gt Yarmouth Transport. Othervehicles are a 1952 Bristol KSW double-decker,currently undergoing restoration, 1959 BristolMW coach, 1967 Bristol RESL single-decker, anda 1971 Bristol VR. The collection is kept near

Attleborough, together with other members’vehicles and a small museum and is open byappointment.

During the year the vehicles can be seen atvarious events in the eastern counties, Richardadded, from railways, carnivals, City of Ale, andbus rallies, including the Norwich Bus Rally,organised by the Society as part of the NorfolkGala Day (held this year on 9th September) .

The Society became involved with the Cityof Ale to raise the profile of the society and is proudto carry the City of Ale advert on the bus during thefestival. The ultimate aim is the find a site for amuseum that can be opened to the public. TheSociety meets twice a month, once at theFreemasons Pub in Norwich where they showphotos and videos and once at Attleboroughwhen they carry out work on the collection’svehicles. If you would like further informationabout the Society, or wish to “borrow” one oftheir buses for an event (you cannot hire them)or make a donation, then call Richard Dixon on01603 891284 or visit the website www.easterntransportcollection.org.uk.

Room on top!

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NORFOLK NIPS | Eastern Transport Collection Society

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The Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA Branch 2012 AGM Tuesday 20th March , 8pmTake 5, Tombland, Norwich.This will take place in the upstairs functi

on room.

You must have a current membership card to attend this meeting.

The next issue of

Norfolk NIPS and Cask Force

will be out on 8th June

Deadline date for copy is 7th May

Why not…..attend a Branch Meeting and meet fellow Real Ale Enthusiasts?17th April – The Marsham Arms, Hevingham.15th May – The University of East Anglia, meet in the Union Bar.19th June – The Windham Arms, Sheringham

Don’t forget…The Winter Ale

Trail finishes on 1st April.

Completed cards must be sent

to: Winter Ale Trail, 22 Heart

sease

Lane, Norwich NR7 9NS by 16t

h April

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

12.00noon - 10.30pm Sunday

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

CAMRA Norfolk

Pub of the Year

2006 & 2008

Run by enthusiastic drinkersand CAMRA members.

WE ARE

IN IT!

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Tel: 01603 721141 www.salhousebell.co.uk

Offering four real alesA traditional 17th Century pub,

how they used to be

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

Open all day every dayfood 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.

Superb food using fresh, local, seasonal produceShoot dinners a speciality

Popular quiz every Wednesday from 8:30pmMeat raffle every Sunday at 4:30pm

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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 beergarden With heated smoking shelter, darts, pool, quizzes And crib.

We now serve morning coffee from 11am, 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.

Easter Beer Festival Good Friday 6th - Tues 10th April

Music Friday and Saturday Night

Easter Egg Raffle on the Sunday in aid of The Break Charity

Norwich And Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

13 years in the Good Beer Guide!

44 The Street, Poringland, Norwich, Norfolk NR14 7JTwww.poringlandroyaloak.co.uk

Tel: 01508 493734

Award Winning Real Ale Pub

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.

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Issue 160 of Norfolk Nips and Cask Force

Documents

Transcript of Issue 160 of Norfolk Nips and Cask Force