July/Aug 2008 Issue 205July/Aug 2008 Issue 205 I am free ......Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed...

Newsletter of Tyneside & Northumberland Branch of the Campaign For Real Ale

July/Aug 2008 Issue 205 I am free, please pick me upJuly/Aug 2008 Issue 205 I am free, please pick me up

Political Meddling inthe Licensed TradePolitical Meddling inthe Licensed Trade

Felling’s AleRevivalFelling’s AleRevival

Battle ofthe BeersBattle ofthe Beers

Pub of theYearPub of theYear

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:43 Page 1

Branch ContactsChairman Richard [email protected] Gordon [email protected] Gary [email protected] Secretary Bill Case [email protected] Bill Case [email protected] Festival Organiser Alan [email protected] Bevvy Editor Richard [email protected] Distribution Stuart [email protected] and Publicity Neil [email protected] Officer Anthony [email protected] Members Carl [email protected] Jan [email protected] DatesJuneThursday 19th to Sunday 22nd Summer BeerFestival Newcastle ArmsSaturday 21st Branch Trip to Scottish Real Ale FestivalSaturday 28th Festival trip to Ossett BreweryJulySaturday 12th 3.30pm Branch Meeting HighHouse Farm Brewery, MatfenAugustThursday 14th to Saturday 16th South ShieldsBeer FestivalSaturday 16th Branch Meeting Battlesteads Hotel, WarkSeptemberTuesday 2ndRegional Meeting, Durham venue tbcDisclaimer Any views and opinions expressed in this pro-gramme are not necessarily those of the Canny BevvyEditor, CAMRA or the Publishers. Seek out and enjoy realale wherever you can but please support our advertisers.

BranchCorner

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Welcome to the latest edition of Canny Bevvyand my first as Chairman. My philosophy is toimprove the running of the branch and expandour links within the region and other CAMRAbranches, while keeping the enthusiasm and funthat has been the trademark of our branch inrecent years.

Since the last edition, we have successfully hosted our 32nd consecutive Beer Festival, one ofthe longest running festivals in the country(GBBF is only 31 this year!). Also Martin Hammillof Hadrian & Border Brewery organised and wona Battle of the Beers competition. More of thatlater in this issue.

May is a busy month for the branch with POTYpresentations, CPOTY nominations to submit andsurvey trips to attend. (All details on our website). However we have an exciting scheduleof events planned for the summer too, includingbranch meetings in Northumberland, so keepwatching that website! We are also developingour Beer Tasting Panels, improving the training &development of our POTY judges and initiating abranch Pubs Inventory list.

I also intend to develop the LocAle campaignstarted by Steve Westby from Nottingham, whohas been named as CAMRA's first Real AleCampaigner of the Year at our NationalMembers' Weekend & AGM in Cardiff in April. Soif you’re not a member and wish to get involvedthen please contact me or another member ofthe committee and help reach our goal of100,000 members from our current membershipof over 90,000. (Our branch has 758 members atthe last census.)

Finally thank you all for the help and support youhave shown me in my initial month, long may it continue.

Cheers, Richard

Editors Intro


FEATURE

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Political Meddling in the Licensed TradeSince I bought my pub in 1983, successive governments of both political persuasionshave wreaked havoc on the pub trade.

The Beer Orders, introduced by the Tories in1996, was seen at the time to be releasing thestranglehold of the Big Six brewers of the day,who controlled over 75% of the beer trade.Brewers were ordered to reduce their tiedestates to 2000 outlets. This was retrospectivelegislation, as the brewers had done nothingillegal. Political intention was well-meant andbacked by CAMRA, but the much largerswathes of pubs owned by the pub companiesthat have evolved are arguably a much worsescenario than the old brewery estates.

The Beer Orders has been removed from theStatute Book by New Labour and at time ofwriting the two biggest pub companies control some 20,000 'tied' pubs between themand don't brew so much as a drop of beer.Punch and Enterprise Inns, both of which arefunded by venture capitalists, own about athird of the pubs in the UK.

Is this an acceptable situation ?

The majority of the outlets owned by 'Pubcos'are rented out to tenants. Usually, the tenantmust purchase all draught products throughthe landlord at higher prices than they wouldpay on the open market.

Pubco tenants should be free to buy whateverthey want from who they want and simply pay rent.

This contrasts with the position of brewerytenants, as their landlord has a vested interestin selling their own product and keeping the

brewery viable. Regrettably, brewers havesometimes abused this tie and underminedtheir tenants by selling their 'tied' ales to thirdparties at much lower prices.

Tied brewery tenants should have access tothe lowest price band from their landlord,otherwise they should be free of tie.

For 25 years I paid about £30 for a 3-year publicence to the Licensing Magistrates.Then New Labour got in on the act and turnedlicensing into a beaurocratic monolith.Local magistrates had sucessfully controlledlicencing for over 600 years but Tony Blairdecreed that it should be handed over to(reluctant) local authorities. My council licencenow costs £295 a year and yet the magistatesdid a much better job than the council for afraction of the cost.

Licencees are now faced with much tougherpenalties for serving under-age customers, butyoung people are maturing quicker and thereare no national ID cards in place for landlordsto inspect.

A pub landlord can be heavily fined for inadvertently selling alcohol to a 17 year oldgirl who looks 23 in makeup, whilst for theirpart the authorities are overseeing huge illegalsales of 'Class A' drugs inside their heavily fortified prisons.

Enough said.

In my opinion, pubs should be thrown a lifelineas closures are at a record high. Not many ofthe ruling classes seem to use our pubs, so


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they are perhaps oblivious to the the uniqueheritage that we have in our public houses.Licensing should be returned to the control ofthe Magistates.

Non-brewing landlords should not be allowedto tie their tenants in any way.

Pubcos and brewers should be forced to reducethe size of their estates to the 2000 figurewhich was deemed big enough for the oldbrewery estates.

Brewers should be forced to sell beer to theirtenants at their lowest price band.

Some form of nationally acceptable ID shouldbe introduced to prevent underage drinkingand with this in place licencees should bestripped of their licence if they repeatedly sellto under 18s.

And finally, where there is only one pub left ina local area, change of use should never be allowed.

A village without a pub is just a soulless collection of houses.

And let us not forget that a pub is also a placeof employment in the community.

There is always a good operator out theresomewhere who can turn a failed pub into asuccess story.

Hugh PriceTynemouth Lodge Hotel


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The BoathouseOwner: Norman Weatherburn

Northumberland & Tyneside POTY 2008

(7yrs in last 8)

Tel: 01661853431

One ale at£1.70 perpint until

9pm Mon - Thurs

Privateparties/buffets

CAMRANorthumberland Pub of the Year

2001, 2003, 2004,2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Choose from 12 handpulls

Food served 12 - 4pm Sat & Sun

Right next to the

station atWylam

Famous for its atmosphere and

the crack

Wylam Brewery Tap

BEER FESTIVAL15/16/17/18 AugustBeers from the Islands: Isle ofMan, Guernsey, Jersey etc...


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AWARD

Congratulations to....BOATHOUSE, WYLAMFor winning our 2008 overall Tyneside &Northumberland Pub of the Year.

As announced at our 32nd Annual Beer Festival(apologies again for the whistle), theBoathouse was narrowly adjudged by ourpanel of experts to represent our branch in theregional final for Pub of the Year. The votingwas extremely close over a dozen categoriesranging from ale quality and quantity toatmosphere, service and mix of customers.

However the competition was fierce betweenour area winners so commiserations to ourother worthy winners:

North Northumberland:Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-TweedResults:Barrels 29 pointsJohn Bull, Alnwick 28 points (phew)Ship, Low Newton 12 points

South-East Northumberland:Delaval Arms, Old HartleyResults:Delaval 27 pointsTap & Spile, Morpeth 20 pointsJoiners Arms, Morpeth 15 points

Tyneside:Newcastle Arms, Newcastle upon TyneResults:(Top) Arms 82 pointsBridge Hotel, Newcastle upon Tyne 17 pointsBodega, Newcastle upon Tyne/Rockcliffe Arms,Whitley Bay 14 points

And finally South-West NorthumberlandResults:Boathouse 61 pointsTap & Spile, Hexham 13 pointsRat Inn, Anick 12 points

Voting forms for our 2009 candidates will, asusual be included in the mail-out for the 2009AGM, which will also include staffing forms forthe 33rd Newcastle Beer Festival.

STOP PRESSThe Bacchus 3rd Beer/Food Matching Festivalwill be held over the week-end of the5th/6th July and feature Yorkshire Dalesbeers. (Previous festivals featured Jarrow and Mordue beers.)

If available, the seven featured beers will be;

Askrigg (award winner) 4.3%;Buttertubs (summer seasonal) 3.7%;Muker Silver (summer seasonal) 4.1%;New Dark Mild 3.6%;New Pale Hoppy Beer 3.8%;New Golden Ale 4% and a Festival Porter 5 - 6%, which will be brewed by AndyHickson, manager of the Bacchus!!

All beers will be matched to Yorkshire traditional and contemporary cuisine. Thereis also a free half pint of the correspondingale included with the food dish!


FOCUSON

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Felling’s Ale RevivalOnce it was a Good Beer Guide regular butthen the future was uncertain. The Old Fox inFelling is now back on the ale trail following achange of licensee. Mark Horn has switchedfrom the Alum Ale House in South Shieldswhere he had built a pedigree for his beerquality. In a short time at the "Fox" he hasrestored top beer quality and extended thebeer range. Although a Cameron's tied houseMark has five guest beers in addition toCameron's Strongarm and one of theHartlepool brewer's seasonal beers.

However, Mark is not tied to any guest beer list- he can source his beers from wherever helikes. And he may just order any beer youwould like to try!

A few yards down the street stands the GoodBeer Guide listed Wheatsheaf still in the hands

of the region's oldest micro brewer, Big Lampafter 23 years. The street corner ale house hasundergone refurbishment to celebrate its100th birthday last year and boss Jimmy Storeykeeps Big Lamp beers plus seasonal beers atvery reasonable prices.

Competition is not on the agenda as the twolicensees hope to work in tandem to buildtrade for the beers that await sampling."We very much anticipate attracting new customers to both our pubs" agreed Mark andJimmy and are working on a series of events in order to achieve that. Why not pay them a visit?

The Old Fox and the Wheatsheaf are locatedon Carlisle Street, Felling two minutes fromFelling's refurbished Metro station.

Ray Heelbeck


COMPETITIOn

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Battle of the Beers

An original idea by Martin Hammill, brewer forHadrian & Border, came to fruition on Saturday10 May 2008. A number of people had gathered at the Boathouse, Wylam 4.00pmwhen it would be established by independentjudging who had won the "Battle of the Beers"

The Battle of the Beers was a contest amonglocal brewers who were invited to submit anew beer with a single hop variety between4% and 4.5%. The idea of the competition wasto stimulate and promote real ale by localbrewers who could demonstrate at first handtheir ability to introduce some fine new ales.

Nine new local ales were on sale at variouspoints in the area. These were the John BullInn, Alnwick; The Victoria, Durham, TheNewcastle Arms, Newcastle, and theBoathouse Wylam.

The make up of the panel of judges were varied, and consisted of Tim Gatenby, ex headbrewer of Federation Brewery and now SalesDirector of Simpsons Malt; Alastair Gilmour,Beer Writer of the Year from Newcastle

Journal; Jan Anderson and Duncan Woodheadtwo well known activists from Camra Tyneside& Northumberland Branch, and Neil Amos,publican of the Newcastle Arms, Tyneside Pubof the Year for the last three years.

The judging at the Boathouse was a "blind"affair with Jay, the Bar Manager, bringing numbered jugs direct from the kegs in the cellar to the judging table. The judges thentasted the beers and awarded marks. At theend of the process Jay was told which "jug"had accrued the most marks. It was thusdecided that the winner was Hadrian andBorder ale, "Newcastle Pioneer" The hop usedwas an English high bittering variety, calledPioneer, with a gravity of 4.2% . Within days the56 firkins were sold and the brewery had tobrew another batch!

The Hadrian & Border brewery is brewing tonear capacity these days. Business continuesto grow, and with the introduction of TynesideBlonde and Farne Island Bitter in bottles, theycontinue to break into new areas of the realale market.

As did the other regional micros, the price oftheir ales went up at the start of the year, thiswas to cover massive increases in the cost ofthe raw materials used to produce their qualityproducts. Martin explained this was due to climatic changes and poor harvests in thegrain and hop production areas of the world.

When the Chancellor dealt a severe blow tothe industry in the March budget with a bigincrease in the duty on the price of a pint,many breweries then decided to pass this onto the consumer. Hadrian and Border, however,chose not to increase their prices any further,

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:45 Page 10

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and absorbed this increase. Hopefully, theseprice rises in the industry will stabilise in thefuture, good crops and harvests would help,of course.

Business is good to the local free trade, andthe brewery continues to supplement thiswith their wholesale and "beer swap" ventures,allowing you to buy and enjoy beers frommicros out of this area. Who knows, next timeyou enjoy a pint from Nottingham orLincolnshire, it may have been the guys fromHadrian and Border that facilitated this delectable experience.

NORTH EAST BATTLE OF THE BEERS 2008.THE BREWERIES AND THE BEERS.

BREWERY BEER ABV

ALLENDALE JACK SNIPE 3.5%

BIG LAMP ONE HOP WONDER 4.0%

DURHAM BEE'S KNEES 4.4%

HADRIAN & BORDER NEWCASTLE PIONEER 4.2%

HIGH HOUSE FARM FARMER'S PRIDE 4.2%

HILL ISLAND C-D-L 4.0%

JARROW CAULKER 4.0%

MORDUE BORN TO BE MILD 3.5%

WYLAM ANGEL ALE 4.3%

ALL OF THESE BEERS HAVE BEEN BREWED FORYOUR ENJOYMENT.

EACH IS A BRAND NEW BREW, DESIGNED WITHSKILL AND CARE, BREWED USING THE TRADITIONAL CRAFTS OF THE REAL ALE TRADE.

FOR THIS SHOWCASE OF NORTHERN BREWING, EACH ALE IS HOPPEDUSING ONLY A SINGLE VARIETY OF HOPFLOWER. THAT CHOICE WAS LEFT TO THE INDIVIDUAL BREWER. FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM ABOUT THE HOP THEY CHOSE.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL REAL ALE MICRO BREWERY.

STOP PRESSDon’t forget to check out Fitzpatricks atTynemouth, currently undergoing refurbishment and a ...hush....hush name change!

Also the Pharaohs are awakening at EgyptCottage on the City Road.

Food served dailyTraditional Sunday Lunch

7 Traditional Real Ales ( includes 3monthly changing Guest Ales)

Quiz night Wednesday 9.15pm

BentonAle House

Front Street, Newcastle upon Tyne01912661512

Frank, Pat and staff offer warm welcome to all old and new

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:45 Page 11

OBITUARY

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Appreciation of an Old FriendBack in 1974 britain was afloat with a load ofrubbish in the name of beer. Nowhere cameoff worse than our area, which caused it to belabelled the beer desert. McEwans Scotch,Tartan Bitter, Keg Ex and Lager - what a choice!

With CAMRA having already been formed, asmall group met and set up a local group. LenWinter was one of that number. Shortly aftertheir formation I accepted an invitation to joinas a result of a letter I had written to theEvening Chronicle. Consequently I have knownLen for many years.

When it came to establishing details of longdefunct breweries, pubs and beers Len was aminefield of information. This enabled him tomake many valuable contributions on this andother matters at meetings.

Nor was he just a talker, for he did a great dealof work over the years. Goodness knows howmany pints he pulled at our beer festivals.

When it came to the time to celebrate our25th anniversary we both received presentation tankards. It was the intentionthat we would both give a number of pressand radio interviews, to the great regret ofboth of us Len's health failed him, and I carriedout these interviews alone. Nevertheless Iknow Len was with me in spirit, and he wouldhave loved to have been there in body.

Now Len has passed on, and the branch meeting on June 2nd commenced with a toastin his memory. To all the branch members whoknew him and respected him over the years, Iknow he will come into the category of gonebut not forgotten.

Bob Mains

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:45 Page 12

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Barley Mow Inn7 real ales on at all times

Black Sheep as standard

Live music every SaturdaySunday night quiz

Food served 11.00 - 8.00pm Monday to FridaySaturday 11.00 - 6.00pm

Sunday Lunch 11.30 - 4.00pm

Opening Times 11.00 - 12 Midnight

Barley Mow Inn, Durham Road, BirtleyTel: 0191 4104504

Tyneside andNorthumberland

Pub of the Season

Winter 2007/08

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:45 Page 13

JOINCAMRA

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CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:46 Page 15

Newcastle’s best and most friendly pub chain

Some further comments from CAMRA...

Source: The Good Beer Guide 2007

TThhee BBaacccchhuuss, High Bridge.“like the first class lounge of an ocean liner”Pub of the Year Runner-up in 2005

Fitzgeralds, Grey Street“On the finest Street in the City”The obvious place to meet - an institution!

BBrriiddggee HHootteell, Castle Square.Next to the High Level Bridge.“the pub and garden offer fine views overthe River Tyne”

CCrroowwnn PPoossaaddaa, The Side.“An architectural gem....a welcome oasis”Pub of the Year Runner-up in 2005

TThhee BBooddeeggaa, Westgate Road.“A multiple winner of local CAMRA Pub of the Year awards”Pub of the Year 2005 & 1996

Runner-up in 2004 & 2006

NNeeww BBrriiddggee, New Bridge Street“cosy bar....on the outskirts of the city centre”A friendly mix or regulars and visitors

TThhee CChhiilllliinngghhaamm, Heaton.“Run by the best...”Seek it out, recently refurbished.Guest beers, food, sports & entertainment -something for everybody!

BBrriiaarr DDeennee, The Links, Whitley Bay.Where “every day is a beer festival”Tyneside & Northumberland Pub of theYear in 2004, Runner-up in 2006…whatever you want, we will try to get it!

RRoocckkcclliiffffee AArrmmss, Whitley Bay.“Old style drinking in pleasant surroundings”More popular than ever - now 4 cask ales!

FFiittzzggeerraallddss, Whitley Bay.“a wider range of real ales....good value andpopular...high standards”

SShhiirreemmoooorr HHoouussee FFaarrmm, New York.“Award winning conversion of derelict stonefarm buildings...well deserved reputation forit’s beer quality and good food”

RRiiddlleeyy AArrmmss, Stannington.“An excellent Fitzgeralds house...eight handpumps, good food, a pleasantatmosphere for drinkers and diners”

TThhee PPlloouugghh, Cramlington.“A fine pub, once a farm,large and comfortable, with a round ‘gingan’”

JJooiinneerrss AArrmmss, Morpeth.“A friendly place to enjoy a good pint of realale....popular with locals and visitors”

SIR JOHN FITZGERALDwww.sjf.co.uk

“”

CannyBevvy 205 20/6/08 11:46 Page 16

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July/Aug 2008 Issue 205July/Aug 2008 Issue 205 I am free ......Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed...

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