Norfolk Nips issue 177

No.177 Summer 2016

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The National Winter AlesFestival comes to Norfolk.Read more on page 3

Magazine of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

Pub of the Year AwardsFind out the winners

on pages 20 and 21

Ten Years and aThousand Brews

Humpty Dumpty reach a brewingmilestone. See page 19

Summer ishere butwinter iscoming!

Many of you I am sure sharedin my joy when London 2012was successful with the bid tohost the 2012 SummerOlympics. While the bid to winthe right to host the NationalWinter Ales Festival in Norwichdid not take the same five yeartime span, nor the samebudget, there is a great excite-ment growing.

We now know that we, Norwich,will host this national CAMRAfestival for the next three yearsfrom February 2017!

The important dates for youthen are Tuesday 21st toSaturday 25th February 2017when we will host this event,plus of course a few days eitherside where we will need volun-teers to help with set up andtake down, a key element inany beer festival!

So, what might you expect?The venue will be the iconiccomplex of St Andrews andBlackfriars Halls in Norwich,home of the already successfulannual Norwich Beer Festival.That could be where the simi-larity with the traditionalNorwich Beer Festival ends aswe will not be replicating ourOctober event.

The Norwich based NWAFwill be the home of the final ofthe Champion Winter Beer ofBritain (won this year in Derbyby the excellent ChocolateMarble from Marble Brewery inManchester). The beers thatmake the final only get thereafter over a year of local tastingpanels and regional heatsleading up to the finals,assuring some great beers arein the final line up.

Norfolk Nips |

Summer 2016 | 3

Continued Overleaf

Winter is coming 3-5

Stig’s Words 6

The Ed’lines 7

Pub and Brewery News 8-10

Around Breweries 12-13

Revitalisation Project 15

Beer Festival Logo Competition 17

Ten years and 1000 brews 19

Pub of The Year Awards 20-21

Who’s Brewing 22-25

Bird’s Eye View 27

Cider Matters 29

West Norfolk Club of the Year 31

Awards Evening 32-35

Northern Soul comes east 36-37

Pub Names 38

The Great and the Good 40-41

Mike Tilbury 43

LocAle Update 45

From the Archives 49

Discount Scheme 51

Beer Festival Diary 52

Steve’s Words 58

Saving Pubs and Beer Quality 59

Dates for your Diary 61

Contact Details 62

Winter is Coming!

In this issue:

The fact that this competition final will behosted in Norwich will mean that you will haveaccess to some of the very best beers available inBritain at our “Champions Beer Bar”. In fact notonly the finalists, but also a great range of thebest beers from regions around the UK that justmissed out getting to the final. To complimentour “Champion Beer Bar” we envisage gettingsome of the best real ale available in Februaryfrom Norfolk brewers to also grace the bar!

Add to that many more real ales from aroundthe UK in our St Andrews hall, some of the bestworld beers and a few ciders, we feel the choicewill be pretty memorable and there should besomething for everybody. After all, we havebeen set high standards by past host cities,including recent hosts Derby from where Ihappily accepted the baton to host NWAF onbehalf of Norwich back in February at theRoundhouse in Derby.

The planning process has clearly beenunderway now for some months. It’s great thatthere is a strong and talented team of volunteersworking behind the scenes, making good use ofthe experience of volunteering at Norwich andother festivals, to help make NWAF a great expe-rience for you. We would love to see you thereas a customer or as a volunteer.

You will be able to volunteer via the NWAFwebsite (www.nwaf.org.uk) where a volunteerstaffing form will be available for you tocomplete. This will allow you to volunteer tohelp at the festival. We really do count on yoursupport and you will be made very welcome ifyou do volunteer. Its a great way to meet upwith old friends and meet new ones as well!

Keep an eye on NWAF website and the face-book page for more information on volunteeringand I will also make information available on thewebsite and facebook pages of our Norwich andNorfolk Branch and of course here in NorfolkNips and Cask Force as well. Feel free to contactus via email before that all gets up and runningof course.

As a branch we recognize that without ourpubs and brewers there would be no CAMRAand no beer festivals. We are looking at how wewill be engaging and bringing these valuableassets into the beer festival to help make theentire experience of visiting Norwich for NWAFis something special.

While all the detail for the event week has notyet been finalized, we hope you will see somespecial NWAF based things going on in selectedNorwich pubs. This is to help you enjoy thefestival over a bigger footprint but also realizehow great it is to actually get down the pub!

We are of course on the lookout for sponsors,brewery bars, caterers, entertainers and manyother partners / helpers to work with us so if youknow of or are interested in any aspect wherethat is concerned, then please do get in touchwith us.

Rob WhitmoreOrganiser NWAF 2017 Norwich

Email: [email protected]

Norfolk Nips | National Winter Beer Festival comes to Norwich

Winter 2015 | 5Summer 2016 | 5

Stig’s WordsSo around comes summer again, unfortunatelyby the time you read this memories of theshortest summer on record from 5th to 8th Maywill be fading!

First I’d like to congratulate the BBC for theirOne Show dedicated to the loss of British pubs.A full show was taken up by the subject; it was abalanced and informative treatment and willhave reached a far more general audience thanCAMRA magazines ever can, well done!

CAMRA itself is currently canvassing membersabout its own future, with some of the moreradical ideas changing it beyond recognition,including accepting all types of beer production,which it seems to me would make us part of theproblem and merely an industry support bodyrather than the independent consumer pressuregroup we are supposed to be, this is my opinion(as this is my Column). If these changes occur, Ifor one will be parting company with CAMRA,which would be a shame after 26 years. Wouldthat constitute “Stigsit”?

How about a new acronym; Society for EnglishLicensed Local Outlets Using Taps! I’m sure wisedecisions will be arrived at in due course.Enough of my worries, it hasn’t happened yet,on with this issue.

Plenty of news of awards for Norfolk pubs forth-coming events and festivals, musings from Jeffand Beer Bird returns with thoughts on attitudes

to women in pubs in the last century. I’ve alsohad a nice funny pub sign (toilet in this case)photo sent in, have you got more? If you have(preferably from Norfolk), send them in and maybewe’ll come up with a prize for the best one.

This is the time when pubs are at their busiestso if you want to help give an impression oftheir beer quality and are a CAMRA member,don’t forget you can score them online.

Congratulations to the Railway Arms inDownham Market for winning the Norfolk ciderpub of the year 2016 on to the regional andthen hopefully national competitions.

Finally many thanks to all those whocontribute the time and effort to make Nipshappen each time, we’ve always got room formore stories and thoughts from local members,so please don’t hesitate to send them in!

6 | Summer 2016

“If these changes occur, I for one will be partingcompany with CAMRA,which would be a shameafter 26 years. Would thatconstitute ‘Stigsit’?”

Is this the end or the beginning? I'm not talkingabout the approaching summer days but thefuture of CAMRA. After 45 years the largestconsumer organisation in Europe is nowembarking on a Revitalisation Project andseeking the views of all our 178000 members.

The media have said it is the end of theCampaign as we have saved Real Ale, but it ismy view it is now time to refocus our direction.The Pubs are still closing at an alarming rate andthe recent rise of keg/craft beers has to beconsidered. So please participate and have yoursay. I already have. Our Branch has a newChairman, Ian Stamp and I would like to wishhim all the best for the exciting times ahead. It was good to see new members joining theCommittee and I know they will enjoy the expe-rience of working for the Campaign. I recentlyattended the Members Weekend and AGM inLiverpool which was so unlike any other I hadbeen to previously. The proxy votes for the AGMoutvoted everyone who attended even beforewe had debated the issues. I'm all for democracyand engaging our members but it was a farce.

The National Executive must get it right nexttime or it might be the end. At least the localPubs were a good compensation. Our BranchPub of the Year was the Fat Cat Brewery Tap andI wish them well in the next round of voting.Our Rural Pub was The White Horse, Neatisheadand well worth a visit. Due to unforeseencircumstances the article on keg/craft beers inthe City has not been included this time.However now with the arrival of Brewdog itshows we should investigate and research thispopular drinking culture which some see as adirect attack on Real Ale. Sounds interesting.

Our Beer Festival Charity this year is BUILD. A local charity and there will be further detailsnext time. Please try and visit all the summerbeer festivals and especially the Norwich City ofAle. Even though other cities have tried to chal-

lenge us it is still my opinion ours is the best inthe country. Increasing city borders will not helpthem as its pubs and local beers that count.

As mentioned previously the National WinterAles Festival is coming to Norwich next year andour local organiser Rob Whitmore has given anupdate. If you are interested in helping thenwhy not volunteer at the Norwich Beer Festivalin October and find out what might be involved.We had a Beer & Brewery Awards evening at theNorwich Cathedral, Hostry which was an excel-lent way of rewarding the local and nationalbrewers. It was such a success I understand theintention is to make it an annual event. Finally,we have been working on improvements to theNorfolk Nips & Cask Force distribution. If youare a pub that is missing deliveries please let usknow. Also we are looking for more volunteersto help with the deliveries so we can cover thewhole of Norfolk. Please contact Adam or Ros asthey seem to know what is going on rather thanme. Now time for a beer.

Graham Freeman

Norfolk Nips | From the Editors

The Ed’lines

We have a growing number of postalsubscribers to Norfolk Nips and Cask Force, andI would like to send my thanks for the kindcomments and best wishes from those whohave renewed their subscriptions recently.

If you would like to join them in receiving thenext 4 issues by post, send 10 first class stampsor £6.50 cheque payable to West NorfolkCAMRA, 91 Tennyson Road, Kings Lynn,Norfolk, PE30 5NG. The magazine is alsoviewable online at issuu.com

Summer 2016 | 7

Subscriptions

8 | Summer 2016

News from Norwich& Norfolk

Most of the news this quarter isfrom Norwich, some fromcontacts but mostly first handas I live in the city! If you haveany news of pubs, in the city orespecially in the county, please let me know [email protected]!

But firstly I should add a briefnote to my paragraph in thelast edition regarding the Arti-choke at Broome, and saythat of course Nikki has alsoretired, not just John. All thebest to both of you, and thankyou for your hard work overthe years!

The Owl Sanctuary whichclosed in January and was thesubject of a massive onlinecampaign and an ACV nomina-tion had found a new home onTimberhill.

However, two other pubshave closed. The RobinHood, Mousehold St (nowavailable to let with a privatelandlord, and the subject of anACV nomination from Norwich& Norfolk CAMRA) and theSurrey Tavern in Surrey St. Let'shope all are both re-let soon.The Pig & Whistle in West-legate has been reopened byClaire Brookes from theWalnut Tree Shades andserving food daily as well ascask ales. Pool Table and Dartsavailable in the bar.

Also in the city centre theWildman in Bedford St closedbriefly, but has now reopenedunder Lou Wilding, and theWoolie, Muspole St reopenedbriefly as the Old Woolpack,but is now closed again.

But probably the biggestnews in the city is thatBrewdog have finally openedtheir Norwich bar, in QueenSt on the site of the oldHogshead. Whatever you thinkof them, this is undoubtedlyanother feather in Norwich'scap. Personally I think theybrew some great beers, andjust wish that some of them atleast were available in cask. Ihaven't had a chance to visityet, but the photos I've seen ofthe renovation look as thoughthey've done a great job, and Ilook forward to visiting soon.And just to prove we're not alot of twiggy brown beerdrinkers, a quote from one ofmy regular sources of Norfolkpub news and photos: “Ian,you need to flag Brewdog asopen on WhatPub. Tried it onMonday. The wife and I playedhavoc with the average age ofthe clientele, but I did have afantastic beer. A 7.2% saisonwith a dozen strains of bret-tanomyces and aged in whitewine barrels”!

Outside the city, the Carpen-ters Arms, Wighton hasbeen closed since late last year,but I hear the Gallon Pot, onthe Market Square inYarmouth, reopened lastDecember.

The Three Boars atSpooner Row nearWymondham has been boughtby Russell Evans of BullardsBrewery and several pubs inNorwich, and reopened inmid-April.

Fat Cat Inns have justpurchased the Perseverancepub, down the round from theFat Cat in Norwich. WillKeatley tells us it’s to berenamed The Fat Percy andwill be a function venue avail-able to hire for parties. Pleasecheck www.fatpercy.co.uk formore details.

A recent visit to the GardenHouse, Pembroke Rd,revealed that the new landlordshave added another hand-pump, making six in total, anda much more adventurous beerrange. And not far awayanother Golden Triangle pub,the Mad Moose has been soldby Animal Inns, and as of theend of May become theWarwick St Social.

The Ugly Bug Inn at Coltonhas discontinued the offer of adiscount for CAMRA members,but now offers all real ales at£2.80 per pint to all customers.On the other hand we have anaddition to the list of discountson page 51, as the Rosebery,on Rosebery Rd, Norwich areoffering a selection of beers allat £2.50 on Monday nights, onproduction of a valid CAMRAcard.

Pub and Brewery NewsPub and Brewery News | Norfolk Nips

Residents of the village ofBeeston and friends of thePloughshare have launched ascheme to raise money for acommunity buyout. Thecurrent owner has sold offsome land and built a couple ofhouses, and is now trying tosell the pub for £320,000. A meeting in the village hallattracted around a hundredpeople! Anyone who would liketo offer help directly or requiresfurther information can e [email protected] or call 07702 481984.

The Dozy Doormouse atEast Runton (named after thelandlord's wife (!) and possiblybetter known as the WhiteHorse) closed late last year andis now up for sale.

And lastly the Bell atSalhouse is to let again.

News from the West

We still have a number ofclosed pubs around. TheWenns Hotel in Kings Lynnis subject to plans developingthe upper stories into flatswhilst retaining a smaller pubnext to a shop on the groundfloor. Variations of these ideashave been around for sometime, and the start of the workalways seems to be around thecorner, but as I write, nothinghas yet happened. Close by inSt James Street, the formerRAOB club, the premises ofwhich were once a historicbank, still lie empty. The plan isto turn it into a bistro, but asyet, we wait.

Better news for a couple ofpremises that have given causefor concern. The Winch atWest Winch reopened inApril, and I would be interestedif anyone has an opinion of thenew incarnation as I have yetto visit. There are plans for alarge scale housing develop-ment adjacent to the pub,which could be a blessing or acurse. Historically it has reliedto a large extent on its positionnext to the A10 and peopledriving there for the meals, soif the development affects thecar parking space, this could bea problem, reducing the possi-bility of offering good valuelunches for people on theHardwick, for example. On theother hand, lots of peoplewithin easy walking distancecould lead to the developmentof a true community pub.When the Winch was firstthreatened over a year ago, theWest Norfolk Branch appliedfor a listing as an Asset ofCommunity Value (ACV), andwas refused as we could notdemonstrate that it was usedby the community. Now couldbe the chance to develop thataspect of the pub.

Another pub that we putforward for an AVC is theLattice House. The future ofthis historic 15th century pubwas in doubt as Wetherspoonsput it up for sale. Once againour application was refused,this time on the grounds thatwe could not demonstrate thata local CAMRA branch had theright to make an application(strange, as they accepted theone for the Winch). Havingbeen to workshops and confer-

ences on the subject in StAlbans and Liverpool andtalked to many people aboutthe subject, including Carl,who has managed to list over150 pubs in his branch area, I am pretty sure that WestNorfolk is unique amongstCAMRA branches in beingrefused the right to make anapplication. For several monthsI have been trying to arrange ameeting to discuss the situation,so far without success.

Still, despite the fears of thosewho, according to a report inthe Lynn News, thought thebuilding was about to bedemolished, it has been takenover by Hawthorn Leisure, aBirmingham based groupformed in 2013 which operatearound 350 pubs countrywide.They have been in contact withus ahead of the reopening inmid-May to let us know thatthere will be a discount forCAMRA members. I believe thatthe majority of the existing staffhave been re-employed, so wewish them well for the future.

Up on the coast at Thornham,we hear that the Chequershas been refurbished and isopen again. A couple of mycontacts have been in touchand the picture looks bright onthe beer front, with Moongazeramongst the offerings reported.In Lynn the Crossways haschanged hands, with Angieand Robin leaving after morethan 20 years in the pub. The pub reopened after a shortbreak and continues to be oneof the very few local commu-nity pubs left in the town.

Norfolk Nips | Pub and Brewery News

Summer 2016 | 9

Continued Overleaf

10 | Summer 2016

Pub News - continued | Norfolk Nips

Not far away in Hunstanton, local MP Sir HenryBellingham helped to relaunch the Wash andTope which has had a half million pounds invest-ment from Enterprise Inns and the Lifeboat PubCompany. Sir Henry has been a strong supporterof the Campaign and is reported to have visitedevery pub in his West Norfolk constituency.

In April, Woodfordes brewery was purchased bya private consortium of investors. RupertFarquharson, the MD will remain in place and nochanges are planned for the head office manage-ment team, so it should be business as normal.

Continuing the trend set by the Victory atClenchwarton and the Cock at WiggenhallSt Mary Magdalen, the Rathskellar has beenselling a house beer. It’s always fun to try theseand see if you can work out who brews them.

Making the news in May was the Kings Headin Thetford where the roof of an outbuildingcollapsed. The pub was evacuated, and thankfullythe only injury was a minor one as a woman washit by a falling tile. Hopefully the pub will soon berepaired and back to full working order.

Finally, we know that pubs raise lots of moneyfor charity in a huge manner of ways, but Liz atthe Peddars in Sporle decided to celebrate herbirthday by doing a fundraising skydive. Can anylandlords or regulars out there beat that?

Jeff

Brewers in Norfolk have been extremely busywith the City of Ale and forthcoming summerBeer Festivals.

Humpty Dumpty are offering, apart fromtheir frequent spring/summer ales, CityHoppers, a limited edition ale as well as a Meetthe Brewer event at the Wig and Pen on the29th May at 4pm. You can find out more at cityofale.org.uk. Also, commemorating their1000th brew, it will be available in various pubsand bottles a Strong Imperial Stout.

To sample more of their beers you can go on21st May to the Village & Walk Brewery Visitpart of the Broads Outdoor Festival, or theirannual Beer Festival which runs from the 22ndto 24th July at Reedham Village Hall NR13 3HL.

People’s, a small brewery producing near theQueens Head in Thurlton, will be featured at thePlasterers for their Fem.ale Festival. The brew, bytheir BLO Tracy Smith, is a cask ale brewed withSouth African hops called African Queen.

Chalk Hill have a Meet the Brewer session onthe 31st June at 7pm, where you can find outmore about all their brews including their newone, Mustard IPA.

The Fat Cat and Neatishead have done acollaboration brew celebrating the fact that bothhave a tap pub that has won an award in theNorwich & Norfolk Pub of the Year competition,winning the City and Rural awards respectively.The product, Kitty Ale, is a 4.5% beer balancingcrystal and caramel malt with American hops.

Norfolk Brewhouse has brewed a collabora-tion ale with Poppyland brewery and GreySealCoffee in Glanford. The idea was to create adrink that blended coffee and ale together. Theresult is a golden IPA, that balances the flavourand sweetness without the bitterness of thecoffee with the refreshing richness of the hops.The Norfolk Brewhouse version of the beer iscalled Moongazer HopBean IPA and will be avail-able throughout the City. The Poppyland versionof the collaboration with Norfolk Brewhouse andGrey Seal Coffee will be available in bottles bythe name of GreySeal Coffee IPA. Both brewerswill be at a Meet the Brewer on May 28th at ThePlasterers and June 1st at The Vine.

Poppyland also has a new brew called StrangeAttractor: a 5.5% “non-linear” pale ale. You candiscover more at Poppyland’s website poppylandbeer.com, or on May 27th at the StAndrew’s Brewhouse with tutored tastings byRoger Protz.

Tombstone has now been nearly a year attheir new address at George Street, on the northwest corner of row 50 in Great Yarmouth, whereyou can also find the Tombstone Saloon, whereall their beers and others from Norfolk, in totalten pumps, can be sampled alongside a greatcollection of ciders.

Golden Triangle has brewed an elderflowerale called ElderFlowerPower and is celebratingfive years in business by brewing a 5% version ofCity Gold, which won Beer of the Festival at thefirst City of Ale in 2011. The new is named CityGold Extra.

Around BreweriesNews from the Brewery Liaison Coordinator

12 | Summer 2016

Summer 2016 | 13

Norfolk Nips |

Woodforde’s has been quite busy with a newhead brewer and now under new ownership.For the City of Ale a fruity session IPA, 4.1%,with hints of tropical fruit has been brewed.Twenty pence of every pint will go the City ofAle charity, EACH. The beer was named EachGolden by Scott Edwards from Norwich, whowon the naming competition.

Woodforde’s are also launching a new range ofseasonal beers, including a Red IPA and a triple-hopped American IPA. According to BelindaJennings, head brewer, the range will reflect thebreadth of the modern day beer spectrum.

And finally if you would like to be a BreweryLiaison Officer, Fox, Oakwood, Yetman’s andThe Shackleton breweries are in need of one,please contact me if interested [email protected]

Cheers,Oli Fernandez

Have SayNorfolk Nips | The Revitalisation Project

YOURCAMRA members should be well aware of “TheRevitalisation Project” which is a major review ofCAMRA’s purpose and positioning. An aim of theproject is to review CAMRA’s purpose, focus andstrategy to ensure that the Campaign remainsrelevant in a fast changing environment. Not assome media sources suggest the end of CAMRAin its entirety!

All established organisations should reviewtheir mission and purpose from time to time andCAMRA are no different. We want to build onour strength and success as CAMRA are enjoyinga record membership and greater influence inthe industry than ever before.

The project has three stages:1. Development of a proposal to be voted on by

members at the 2017 Members’ Weekend.

2. A members’ consultation from April–September.

3. Implementation of what is decided.

Stage one has happened and part of 2 (anonline survey of members) had a closing date of30th April 2016. So now it is the turn ofNorwich to host a consultation event to get theviews face to face of its members.

Where? The Auditorium at the Forum in Norwich

When? Saturday September 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Who? The Project revitalisation team will welcomeCAMRA Members only – but if you are not aCAMRA member you can still come and joinCAMRA on the day to gain access – CAMRAmembers must show a valid membership card togain access. Members will be invited to RSVP onlineto indicate that they plan to attend an event.

What else? After the event we are planning acouple of Pub Walks for you to enjoy afterwards ifyou would like some quality CAMRA social time.

The purpose of the events UK wide will be todevelop interest and involvement in the consul-tation and give members an opportunity tomake their voice heard. We want to start aconversation with a wide range of members at alllevels, including those who we never see or hear.

Events are expected to last two hours and willcomprise a short presentation (usually by aSteering Group member) followed by an opendiscussion on CAMRA’s future purpose andstructure. This discussion will be facilitated by amember of the CAMRA Staff team. The presen-tation is an opportunity to cater for lesswell-informed members by setting the contextand create a ‘level playing field’ of knowledge.

Other events around the country will bepublished on the Project Website atwww.camra.org.uk/revitalisation.

By asking members to RSVP online allows us tofollow up with members to ensure that theyattend, and to get in touch with them afterevents to encourage them to remain involved inthis important process. Members will also bewelcomed at events even if they have not indi-cated that they intend to come along.

Get in touchIf you have any questions, please get in touchwith your Branch contact at [email protected].

Rob Whitmore Branch Secretary, Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA

16 | Summer 2016

The annual competition to find the new logo forthe 39th Norwich Beer Festival, which will takeplace from Monday the 24th October untilSaturday 29th October 2016, has just beenlaunched by members of the Norwich andNorfolk branch of CAMRA (Campaign for RealAle).

The preparations for the popular annual event,which will be held again in St Andrew’s and

Blackfriars’ Halls in Norwich and receives around19,000 festival goers over eleven sessions, andtakes ten months to plan and organise. Themembers and volunteers have only just recovered from running the 2015 Beer Festivalbut launching the logo competition is one of the

first tasks for the beer festival and the winningdesign will be one of the prime marketing toolsfor the festival.

Rob Derbridge, the festival organiser for 2015,said “We are hopeful that as ever we will receivea large and fantastic array of entries. We alwaysreceive entries on various themes, although theymust include a dragon in some form, but the

entrants can choose a setting or background oftheir choice. We always look forward to having atough decision yet again in selecting the eventual winner!”.

The main winner will be judged by the organ-ising committee at the planning meetings in theNew Year and will receive £100 along with aselection of merchandising at the festivalfeaturing their logo. There will be ten runner-up

prizes of complementary festival tickets andalso the best under-18 entrant will get a bookvoucher.

Entrants are asked to specify “Adult” or“Under-18” and include their name, contact

details and age (if under-18) on the back of thepaper design or within the email.

As always, the most important element is thata dragon must be included within the design,although abstract is acceptable, also a maximumfive colours (four is preferable), including anyblack or white parts of the design. Emailedentries should be in a computer readable format(JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PDF, Postscript, GIMP,

Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw); noMS Word document files please.

Entries (one per sheet or email and with amaximum size A4) can be sent to 2016Norwich Beer Festival Logo Competition, 4 Rectory Close, Newton Flotman,Norwich, Norfolk, NR15 1PZ or email to [email protected] byMonday 22nd February 2016 at the latestplease.

All entries will become the property of theNorwich & Norfolk branch of the Campaign forReal Ale and may be used for display andpublicity purposes.

Summer 2016 | 17

2016 Norwich Beer Festivallogo competition launched

Norfolk Nips | Norwich Beer Festival Logo Competition

18 | Summer 2016

THE RED LIONOPENING TIMES

Mon-Thurs12noon-3pm, 5.30pm-11pm

Fri & Sat 12-11pm, Sun 12-10pmOpen all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday

from 12noon.Sunday full menu served 12-7pmand Sunday Roast 12-3pm

We Also Have Free Wifi AvailableTo Customers.

Telephone for further details of anyof our events, or come in and have alook for yourself, everyone welcome.

A traditional country pub with real ales and excellenthome-cooked food.

Restaurant open lunch and evening.Open for Bed & Breakfast every night of the week.

EVERY FRIDAY IS FRESH FISH FRIDAYDelivered that morning, available Lunch & Dinner! Crispy, Beer-battered Fish, Chips & Peas-£9.95

Regular Monthly Events:Jam Sessions (second Sunday of the month)

Quiz NightsOpen Mic Nights (last Tuesday of the month)

East Church Street, Kenninghall, Norfolk, NR16 2EP01953 887849 Email: [email protected]

www.redlionkenninghall.co.uk

Please support our advertisers | Norfolk Nips

In 2006, four friends from the London areadecided to go into business together owning abrewery. Craig and Mary Anne Fermoy togetherwith Stephen and Lesley George looked inWhat’s Brewing and noticed a brewery for sale inthe idyllic countryside of the Norfolk Broads.Then finally in Sept 2006 they took over theHumpty Dumpty Brewery. The rest is history.Currently producing 26 different beers in bothcask and bottles, the Humpty Dumpty Breweryhas since made a name for itself for its qualityand attention to detail.

It was with a sense of honour for the occasionthat I and other invited staff and VIP’s went toReedham to watch the brew take form. With theadded bonus of the odd beer or two and alovely buffet laid on by the Humpties we lookedon. I have been on many brewery tours butnothing prepared me for the hustle and bustleof a working brewery. Craig was joined by thistrusty team – Tom Farrell, Ian Case and SeanJunker. All four of them knowing exactly whatwas expected and what they wanted to achieve;a Russian Imperial Stout no less, hopefullyaround 10% abv. The sad thing is we will haveto wait until early summer to sample thisdelight, but I for one can’t wait!

It will be produced in both bottle conditionedand cask and I am told there will (hopefully) bea cask available at their own Reedham BeerFestival on 22nd – 24th July. The bottles will beavailable in various outlets as well as their ownrecently re-furbished shop which has a wide

range of bottled beers and other local producefor sale.

2016 is an exciting year for Humpty Dumptyas they will also be celebrating their 10thanniversary at the brewery later this year. Sowatch this space for more news on the excitingprospect of yet another speciality brew.

Jane EdruptHumpty Dumpty Brewery Liaison Officer

HUMPTY DUMPTY CELEBRATEten YEARS AND 1000 BREWS

Summer 2016 | 19

Norfolk Nips |

It’s a cold crisp February morning and Craig Fermoy (head brewer and co-owner ofHumpty Dumpty brewery) drags himself into work at 4.20am. Why you ask, is hemad? Well yes, just slightly but apart from that Saturday February 27th 2016 is a bigday. As it is on this day, with pride, they start their 1000th brew.

Traditional Country Puband Restaurant

•5 Real Ales•Great Food••Sheltered Gardens•

Colby Road, Banningham, Aylsham, NR11 7DY

01263 733534www.banninghamcrown.co.uk

THE BANNINGHAMCROWN FREE HOUSE

We are in it!

20 | Summer 2016

| Norfolk Nips

As you know every year the Norwich & Norfolkand West Norfolk Branches choose their Pub ofthe Year. It is the most prestigious award aBranch can give to a local Pub.

The Norwich Branch have awards for theirCounty and City Pubs and the winners are WhiteHorse, Neatishead and the Fat Cat Brewery Tap.The next stage was to select the overall BranchPOTY and congratulations go to the Fat CatBrewery Tap which is on Lawson Road and waspreviously The Wherry and then The Shed. It isthe home of the fantastic Fat Cat Brewery whichstarted in 2005 after being a long term ambitionof Colin Keatley, Landlord of the Fat Cat. We allknow the Fat Cat has won the National Pub ofthe Year in 1998 and 2004. The Competition ison the basis of national guidelines that includevoting for Quality of Beer, Community Focus,CAMRA Aims & Objectives, Style & Decor andWelcome & Service.

It is slightly difficult for the voters as you haveto put yourself into the position of a customervisiting the pub for the first time. However it isvery enjoyable and if you are interested inhelping on the next voting rounds please let usknow. So back to the Fat Cat Brewery Tap andthe awards presentation evening. The Pub washeaving and the other Fat Cat pubs staff werealso there is support.

Our outgoing Chairman Warren Wordsworthwas the man with the mike although wethought he was going to do karaoke. Afterhanding over the two awards to Mark and Laurawe were given an emotional speech from Markwho thanked all his customers for their supportover the last 5 years. As the Pub is popular withmusic lovers a band was on next and a greatand memorable night was had by us all. If you

have not been to the Pub before please make aspecial visit as the cheeseboards are legendaryand not to mention the extensive range of FatCat beers on offer. We wish them all the best inthe next round of the competition.

Graham

Norwich & Norfolk Branch Pub of theYear 2016

Summer 2016 | 21

Norfolk Nips | West Norfolk Branch - Pub of the Year 2016

Raise a glass to the King’s Arms in Shouldhamthat has just been presented with the WestNorfolk CAMRA Pub of the Year award.

Landlord Ian Skinner was joined by a largenumber of regulars and local people as heaccepted the award from Steve Barker, theChairman of West Norfolk CAMRA. Steve said“Many congratulations to the King’s Arms atShouldham for winning West Norfolk Pub of theYear.

This is a pub owned by the Community andrun by the Community. The pub re-opened inlate 2014 after being closed for over 2 years.After a Share Issue in August 2013, the target of£150,000 was reached, the majority of sharesbeing purchased by local people (and somesupport from Stephen Fry). Fund raisingcontinued, and with an enormous amount ofvoluntary help, the task was complete.

With community support, this pub has risenlike a phoenix from the ashes. The award recog-nizes the consistently high quality of real ale onoffer at the pub which beat keen oppositionfrom other worthy nominees.

Landlord Ian’s reaction was that he was “overthe moon” with the award, he went on to say“Thanks to all who voted for the King’s Arms,and for the support of the West Norfolk CAMRAbranch and all staff and volunteers at the pub.”

Ian has a passion for real ale which goes backyears and thanked old friend Mark from BeestonBrewery who has supported his efforts andhelped sponsor the presentation evening.

An innovative competition is run where youpay £5 to suggest a beer you would like to seeon sale, if your beer is drawn you get to drink itfor free when it is on sale. The raffle is selffinancing covering the cost of a barrel andencouraging customers to try somethingdifferent.

In conversation Ian revealed that the wellknown tale of the pub’s resurrection to acommunity asset was only the first chapter of anongoing story, with varying activities takingplace on a regular basis (averaging five permonth) such as a “Knitters and natters” session,quizzes and even philosophy, the pub has itsown football team, Shouldham FC which is in itsfirst season, introducing a younger dynamic tothe customer base.

The King’s Arms also features a separate cafewhich was hosting the King’s Lynn Mountainbike club on the same evening!

The King’s Arms continues to go from strengthto strength and is a deserving winner ofCAMRA’s award, it will go forward to the Countycompetition for Norfolk CAMRA pub of the yearagainst the other Norfolk branches selections.

Raise a Glass tothe King’s Arms,Shouldham West NorfolkCAMRA Pub ofthe year 2016

22 | Summer 2016

This is the first of a regular article which we hope you will enjoy. In the brewing chair is PhilHalls of Grain Brewery, Alburgh, Harleston,Norfolk, IP20 0BS.

What did you do before brewing?Incredibly before brewing I was in Publishing,not Harry Potter but Government Reports. I wasa Project Manager at HMSO and then mademaps for National River authorities. My next jobwas watching paint dry on tennis courts so wecould then apply the next coat. I was very goodat this.

What got you into Commercial brewing?I was an old friend of Geoff Wright who nowlooks after our pubs. We both had a love of beer.I wanted a change from working in an office andthought of starting my own business with moreof a hands on job. I wanted something I couldown and grow and steer the direction of it. We liked beer and brewing had a hint of someexciting things. I had a couple of failed attemptspreviously but we got together a business plan.Geoff was made redundant and we thought

Who’sBrewing

now or never. He sold his car and I re-mort-gaged my house and we bought a starter kitfrom Castle Rock Brewery. We put it into thefarm buildings which was an old dairy. I readbooks, spoke to Ray Ashworth who was amassive help, went on a brief course and startedbrewing beer. After about two years I started tounderstand how to brew beer.

How do you go about choosing the style of beers you brew?The style of beer is really by what we like andenjoy. If we really like a beer we feel wouldn’t itbe great to have a beer like that.

Summer 2016 | 23

How do you choose your ingredients?We are in the middle of the best brewers Barleyand Malt growing area in the country. We getthe Wheat, Barley and Rye from Crisp Maltings,Great Ryburgh. The hops really depend on thestyle of beer. We try and use English Hops butwith the recent bad harvest this is difficult. ForBlonde Ash Wheat we use Saaz hops from theCzech Republic. With Lignum Vitea Pale we useUS hops to get the deep hoppy flavour. Wehave a big palette of hops to choose from.

Are you planning any brewery changes?We had a 15 barrel plant but now can squeeze20 barrels if needed at a low ABV. We have 3big fermenters and can convert a conditioning

tank to another fermenter if needed. We tendto brew 2 to 3 times a week turning out 12 -15,000 pints a week. We are classed as a BigSmall Brewery and are in the top 4 in Norfolkfor output. We have no plans to move as we arein a great location in the Waveney Valley. Wemight increase our numbers of pubs from 3 butwe just have to see how it goes.

You do seem to have won a few awardsover the years?We have a Wall of Glory which is in the bar areaand are running out of space. Maybe we shouldonly put up Gold awards (Joke). The brewerybar is very popular and the shop is busy.

Continued Overleaf

Open from Midday EverydayFresh home cooked food

to be found on our bar and specials menus

Ever changing selection oflocal ales and fifty whiskies

to be sampled

Upcoming Events

Real Ale, Cider, and Music Festivals during the Spring (May 27th-30th) and Summer (August 26th-29th) Bank Holiday weekends, with acts including:

The Lovin’ Handfull, Starbuck, James Summerhill, Those Darned Mouldy Figs, The A13 All Stars, and Misserable Man!

Pub quizzes every Thursday night, DragonFest open mic nights, and much more!

Check our website and Facebook page to stay updated through the summer

12:48 Page 1

What is your favourite Grain beer?It depends on my mood. Oak is great on a hotday to slate your thirst and goes down well inone. A satisfying thirst quenching pint. I wouldhave to pick Lignum Vitae as the overall favouritein view of the hoppy flavour and aromas.

What is your favourite Local, National andInternational beer?Beeston, Worth the Wait 4.2%. Mark just gets itright. Dark Star, Hophead 3.8%. A strong hoppyafter taste.

Ballast Point, Sculpin IPA 7.00% from California. They have just got the balance ofhopiness right. It is always something I try toachieve.

Finally is there anything you want to add?I note you have the National Winter Beer Festivalcoming next year and I might brew somethingespecially for the event. We have a 200 litrebrew kit to experiment with. Brewing is a goodindustry to be in and people are passionateabout their beers. We try to get it right and havehad 10 years at it. Still a long way fromproducing the perfect beer we want to produce,but we are very happy with what we brew. InNorfolk on the whole all the brewers get on wellwith each other and help and share ideas. I feelbeer is for sharing with a friend and enjoying.

Graham FreemanWarren Wordsworth - Photos

Summer 2016 | 25

Norfolk Nips | Who’s Brewing – continued

26 | Summer 2016


So there I was. All on my own. Sitting in thecorner of my local. No, I wasn’t Billy-no-mates(not on this occasion); I was waiting for TheChap to arrive. So I played with my phone whilstsupping a pint; texting mates, catching up withFacebook, bidding for some shoes on eBay (sad I know), anything to avoid catchingsomeone’s eye. Actually that’s not quite true.This is one pub where I’d be happy to sit on myown, perhaps with a book or the Sunday papers.In fact Norwich has lots of really lovely, friendlypubs. Granted, there are still a few that areunwelcoming, and some that are downrightintimidating for women. But on the whole weare blessed in this city. It got me thinking aboutwomen...and pubs.

Although pubs have traditionally been thepreserve of men, it was women who did most ofthe brewing back in the day, usually for theirimmediate families. The First World War trans-formed female drinking habits. Whilst the menwere away fighting, women took on the workthey had left behind. Women suddenly foundthemselves with disposable income, and by allaccounts many dashed to the pub and starteddrinking; and drinking alcohol in greater quanti-ties than ever before! This prompted moraloutrage in some quarters, with calls on thegovernment to take action to keep women outof pubs.

The Aberdeen Journal in 1914 discussed the“evil” of an “increase in the consumption ofalcoholic liquor by women”, authorities inWarrington were concerned about “the army ofwomen crowding the public houses”, and clericsin Dundee called for an outright ban on womenin pubs. The Manchester Evening News evenreported that a magistrate, Theophilus Simpson,had conducted an inquiry into the local ‘under-world’ and that during his research, he had beenshocked to count “26 women enter a licensed

house in ten minutes, with 16 coming out whohe had not seen enter”! He concluded hisreport saying that soldiers would return at theend of the war to “find their wives dishonouredand drunkards”.

Thankfully there were no laws or measuresintroduced that specifically targeted women,despite the fact that there did seem to be agenuine fear that changes in society would leadto a decline in women’s standards; fears not onlyof drinking, but also smoking and wearingtrousers.

Well I don’t smoke, but I do drink and weartrousers, often at the same time. So I’m raisinga glass to those early ladettes. Cheers girls!

The Beer Bird

Summer 2016 | 27

Bird’s Eye View: A Woman’splace is... Down the pub?

Norfolk Nips | Bird’s eye view

28 | Summer 2016


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08/02/2016 11:47

The month of May started with some excitingnews for one of Norfolk’s established producers,Ryan Burnard, whose Burnard’s Stray Perry wonthe National Silver Perry award at the NationalCider and Perry Championships at Reading Beerand Cider Festival. This is a great achievementas it is the first time that East Anglia perry hasreceived an award at the National Champi-onships. Cambridgeshire also did well in thecompetition this year with Harding’s 3 PeaceSweet cider winning the National Gold Cideraward, another first with this being the first timethat an East Anglia producer has won thenational cider prize.

The Railway Arms in Downham Market are alsocelebrating. They have again been voted asNorfolk Cider Pub of the Year which means theyare up against pubs throughout East Anglia forthe title of Regional Cider Pub of the Year.

I was also delighted to be able to attend ameeting with Pierre Moscovici, the EuropeanCommissioner responsible for taxation, todiscuss further measures to protect small ciderproducers who make less than 70hl a year.

The current duty exemption for small ciderproducers in the UK is under threat from theCommission, which would like to see tax ratesfall in line with the EU Directive on Excise Dutyfor Alcohol. As there is currently a review intothe Directive taking place, CAMRA has askedthat a specific exemption is written into a newDirective to ensure that it is upheld in Europeanlaw. We have also asked for a sliding scale ofduty, similar to Small Breweries Relief, to beincluded in the revised Directive to helpproducers who would like to expand.

The Commissioner did warn us that theprocess of reviewing the directive would nothappen quickly, but it was clear that he is takingthe issue of supporting small cider producersseriously.

Andrea

CiderMatters

Norfolk Nips |

Summer 2016 | 29

30 | Summer 2016


CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) are pleased toannounce that the Ouse Amateur Sailing Clubhas been voted the winner of West Norfolk Clubof the Year 2016.

The Ouse Amateur Sailing Club, a previousregional and national winner of CAMRA’s Club ofthe year, was established in 1881. They havesupported real ale for many decades and four tofive beers and one real cider are available ongravity in their club house at the end of Ferry Lane.

Phil Piggott, Hon Secretary of the OuseAmateur Sailing Club said, “We are extremelyproud to be voted winner of West Norfolk Clubof the Year 2016 and would like to thankCAMRA for entering our club and for their

continued support. I would also take this oppor-tunity to thank our many ‘Real Ale’ membersand staff for helping to keep the beer and ciderflowing in King’s Lynn. New members arealways welcome, both full and social (you don’thave to sail to join!!).”

Steve Barker, West Norfolk Branch Chairmansaid “It is pleasing to see a Club in King’s Lynnwin this award. Their range of real ales andciders is impressive and served in excellentcondition.”

The club will go forward to the Regional Clubof the Year competition and will be judgedalongside clubs from throughout the East Angliaregion.

King’s Lynn Club isWest Norfolk Clubof the Year 2016

Summer 2016 | 31

Norfolk Nips | West Norfolk Club of the Year

Photo Courtesy of Lynn News

Here is a picture from 1999 when the Club lastwon this award. Is anyone in both pictures?

32 | Winter 2015

Inaugural awards eveningchampions a wealth ofNorfolk brewers

The very first combined Awards eventorganised by committee members of theNorwich and Norfolk branch of CAMRA(Campaign for Real Ale) was attended bymany of the local breweries, as well assome from further afield, on Friday 26thFebruary evening.

The event was held in the stunningWeston Room of the Hostry at NorwichCathedral (Church of England) andincluded a bar of many of the award-winning cask and bottle beers and a cider,along with a buffet by the Hostry.

Branch Chairman, Warren Wordsworth,welcomed everyone to the celebration ofNorfolk’s fine breweries in the Capital ofAle, also recently rewarded with the presti-gious National Winter Ales Festival fromFebruary 2017 for three years. The hostfor the evening, James Kearns, kept theawards flowing and the audience enter-tained throughout with a good amount ofhumour.

It was hailed a success by the membersand brewers alike and saw four differentawards presented throughout the

evening, as well as somespecial awards presented byWarren Wordsworth on behalfof the local branch. Many ofthe Norfolk breweries wererepresented at the sold-outevent, as well as Cambridge’sMoonshine Brewery and ciderproducer Monk & Disorderly,Suffolk’s Green Jack Breweryand Yorkshire’s Brass Castlemaking even longer journeys toNorwich.

They were collecting theirBeers of the Festival awards,voted for by the festival atten-dees, from the 2015 NorwichBeer Festival (see results overleaf) including Silver overallfrom Brass Castle’s Bad Kitty.The overall Gold winner wasBeeston Brewery for theirgolden ale, Worth the Wait.

Lorraine Bliss the Chief Execu-tive of St Eds, the branch’scharity last year, also attendedand was presented with acheque for £8,500 which wasraised through donations givenby the public at the 2015Norfolk Beer Festival. Lorrainewas most grateful to thebranch for the funds and alsowith assistance in raising theirprofile locally and explainedthe work that St Eds undertake

with disadvantaged youngpeople and the practical jobtraining they provide.

Special awards werepresented to Dawn Hopkins asthe branch first Pub Championin recognition of her workwhilst a publican in Norwich inpromoting pubs and licensees,including addressing a parlia-mentary rally in London and,although now retired from thetrade, she is still campaigningwith national groups againstunfair pub ties. A second newaward for Volunteer of the Yearwas awarded to Barry Delf whohas been a volunteer with thebranch for many yearsincluding organising the beerfestival transport and staying‘dry’ during the long dayssetting up, re-stocking andtaking down the festival. Barrywas unable to attend and sowas presented his certificate atthe first planning meeting forthe 2016 Norwich Beer Festivalthe previous night.

The winners of the 2016Norfolk Cask and Bottled Beersof the Year awards, who didn’tknow the results until theAwards evening itself, wereannounced by the Norwichand Norfolk CAMRA branch toan expectant flocculation ofNorfolk brewers. The winner ofthe Gold Champion Cask ofNorfolk was Fat Cat Brewery'sMarmalade Cat and wascollected by a quite shockedMark Winters! Marmalade Catwon Gold in the strong bitterscategory for the Fat CatBrewery, based in LawsonRoad, Norwich and beat manyfine beers to win the tophonour for the first time.

The Champion Bottle Beer ofNorfolk for 2016 was awardedto Martin Warren of PoppylandBrewery, based in Cromer forthe speciality beer Home forChristmas. Martin wasdelighted to receive a total offive certificates for four of hisbottle beers. PoppylandBrewery makes small batches of

Summer 2016 | 33

Norfolk Nips | Awards evening

Continued Overleaf

adventurous bottled beer, usingmany unusual ingredients andre-writing the rules of brewing;Martin certainly does ‘dodifferent’ in Norfolk! Both sets ofresults are determined from ayear-long series of tastings byvolunteers from the Norwich &Norfolk CAMRA Branch.

Norfolk Taste Panel chair AlanEdwards said “In the years sincewe have been organising thecompetition, we have seen adefinite increase in the quality ofthe beers entered and also

the number of breweries basedin Norfolk grow. Alan continued“I would like to thank the brew-eries for their support and myfellow tasters for their unfailingenthusiasm and dedication totasting beer”.

There was also time for theChampion Beers of East Angliacertificates to be presented byAndrea Briers, East AngliaRegional Director of CAMRA tothe Norfolk breweries present:Elmtree, Jo C’s, Golden Triangleand Woodforde’s. These arejudged by tasting panels atCAMRA-run beer festivals heldacross the region over the pastyear. A full list of results areopposite:

Summer 2016 | 35

Cask Beers of Norfolk

OVERALL WINNER CATEGORYGold Fat Cat Brewery MarmaladeCatSilver Humpty Dumpty BreweryBroadland SunriseBronze Winters Brewery Mild

MILDGold Winters Brewery Mild

BITTERGold Grain Brewery Oak

BEST BITTERGold Humpty Dumpty BreweryBroadland Sunrise

STRONG BITTERGold Fat Cat Brewery MarmaladeCat

GOLDEN ALEGold Lacons Brewery Encore

STOUTGold Grain Brewery Blackwood Stout

THE WINNERS

Bottled Beers of Norfolk2016 Awards

OVERALL WINNER CATEGORYGold Poppyland Brewery HomeBy ChristmasSilver Woodforde’s BreweryNelsons RevengeBronze Elmtree Brewery Night-light Mild

MILD, BROWN & OLD ALEGold Elmtree Brewery Nightlight Mild

BITTERGold Woodforde’s BreweryNelson’s RevengeSilver Elmtree Brewery Norfolk’s80 Shilling Ale

STRONG BITTERGold Grain Brewery IPASilver Poppyland Brewery EastCoast IPA

GOLDEN ALEGold Woodforde’s Brewery BureGoldSilver Why Not Brewery Hare OfThe Dog

SPECIALITY BEERGold Elmtree Brewery WinterSolsticeSilver Poppyland Brewery Elder-flower Saison

STOUT & PORTERGold Two Rivers Brewery NorfolkStoatSilver Humpty Dumpty BreweryPorterBronze Poppyland Brewery10,000 Geese

UNIQUEGold Poppyland Brewery HomeBy Christmas

BARLEY WINEGold Woodforde’s Brewery Head-cracker

Champion Beers of EastAnglia - Norfolk Winners

BITTERSGold Woodforde’s WherryBronze Jo C’s Norfolk Kiwi

GOLDEN ALESGold Golden Triangle Mosaic City

SPECIALITY BEERSSilver St Peter’s Grapefruit Beer

OLD ALES/STRONG MILDSSilver Woodforde’s Norfolk Nog

STOUTSSilver Old Chimneys Good KingHenryBronze Elmtree Dark Horse

I came to appreciate music rather late in life. The Beatles and Stones passed me by, and Ididn’t really take an interest until the era of triplegatefold LPs with covers by Roger Dean were allthe rage. Then came the art school rock of thelikes of Roxy Music and the excitement of punkuntil any further personal musical developmentwas arrested by my discovery of The Fall. Onegenre that passed me by was Northern Soul. Ivaguely remember Wigan’s Chosen Fewappearing on top of the pops and hearing tales ofall-nighters at Wigan Casino, but that’s about all.

There is an exhibition of punk memorabiliacoming up at the V&A soon, and having seensome video clips of Wigan Casino in the town’smuseum recently, I assumed that Northern Soulhad been packaged, sanitised and consigned tohistory in a similar way. However, a recent visitto the Social Club in Runcton Holme proved mewrong. We went out there to drop off the latest copy of the local CAMRA newsletter and as it

was a Monday evening we half expected the place to be closed, but we were pleased to seethat it was packed. Monday is darts and dominonight and there were seven games of pairs occu-pying all the available tables in addition to thetussles going on at the oche.

As I ordered my excellent pint of Daleside’sPride of England, I remarked to the stewardabout how busy the place seemed and he toldme that it was often like that, with one of thehighlights being the Northern Soul nights. ‘Weget people from all over – Norwich, theMidlands, everywhere’, he told me. He went onto explain that at the last event there were D.J.sdown from Manchester and Hull who broughtfriends with them.

Northern Soul

36 | Summer 2016

comes East

Photo courtesy of Northen Soul Band.www.northernsoulband.co.uk

Summer 2016 | 37

Norfolk Nips | Barman

It seems that this love for Northern Soul is notconfined to Runcton Holme. A quick glance atthe promotions notices in the club showed allkinds of events taking place locally, with theKing’s Lynn No 1 Soul Club organising an eventat the Blue and Gold club at the football groundin April and a big event coming up at the AdrianFlux arena in September featuring DJs fromWhittlesea, Runcton Holme and Hull. If you arenot worn out by that, in November there is asoul weekend up at Searles in Hunstanton whichfeatures a Northern Soul room alongside theMotown and Funk. If you fancy dusting off thescooter you can head off to Norwich or Hemsbylater in the year.

Possibly because it was in my mind, I noticed aNorthern Soul logo in one of the shop windowsin town and began to wonder if somehowKing’s Lynn has become the epicentre of thismusical genre. Perhaps it should be renamedEastern Soul, in the same way the Ousebeatsonce rivalled the Merseybeats.

In the past it has been suggested that some ofthe participants had a touch of pharmaceuticalhelp to maintain the high energy needed todance all night, but as we are all older andwiser, I am sure that this is no longer the case.So what beer should these events serve? As ithappens Blakemere Brewery of Nantwich inCheshire produce a couple of themed beers,Soul Time and Soul Rider with its very collectible(i.e. frequently stolen) pump clip. So next time Iam down at Runcton Holme on Soul Night youcan pull the moves on the dance floor, whilst Idown the Soul Rider. Keep the faith.

Barman

A version of this article appeared in the Lynn News.

Privately owned freehouse and restaurant with awide selection of real ales, lagers and ciders.

Freshly cooked locally sourced food.

Child friendly, large beer garden, pool table, easyaccess from A47, ample parking and on 23A bus

route from the city centre.

Visit www.thehartenorwich.co.uk tocheck out the menu and opening times

Old Costessey, Norwich, NR8 5BS Tel: 01603 742755

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The Harte

Over the past few months, the Pub HistorySociety magazine (www.pubhistorysociety.co.uk)has carried several articles about the derivationof the pub name ‘The Swan with Two Necks’.Today I can exclusively reveal that it is a corrup-tion of ‘The Swan with Two Nicks’. The nicks inquestion are marks in the beak, and are awardedto swans every time they manage to breaksomeone’s arm. Under ancient laws, all swansbelong to the queen, and in the past, swanswhich had succeeded in breaking a person’s armwould be summoned to the palace and themonarch would gouge the marks in person, butnow this is mostly done by the official SwanUpper with queen only gouging one symbolicswan per year.

Other pub names also have interesting tales.The Cat and Fiddle is a reference to St Catherine(Cat to her friends). She is usually depicted witha spiked wheel on which she was sentenced todie by the Roman emperor Maxentius, butbefore this took place she was tortured byhaving a very loud, out of tune fiddle played toher for several days without a break. This tech-nique was copied many years later when U.S.Special Forces played deafeningly loud rockmusic for ten days in an effort to secure thesurrender of General Noriega of Panama duringOperation ‘Nifty Package’.

The Kings Head recalls the execution of KingCharles I in 1649. After the grizzly event, hishead was taken on a tour around the countryand displayed in local pubs to show whathappens to people who disobey the will ofparliament. Obviously there were a lot of pubsand only one head, so in some cases, the KingsArms were used instead.

A more recent pub sign is the Red Lion. TheEngland football team are often referred to as

the Three Lions and the Red Lion is popularlybelieved to be a reference to one of theirgreatest players, Bobby Charlton who usuallywore the red of Manchester United. Youngerfans will tell you that it is dedicated to WayneRooney, who recently broke Charlton’s Englandgoals record, but some of us are sticklers forhistorical accuracy. The much rarer White Lion isa reference to an era almost lost in the mists oftime when Leeds United actually producedEngland footballers, but the name fell out offavour after the dreadful mistake by TerryCooper in the 1973 game against Poland whichcost England qualification for the 1974 world cup.

In the past a newspaper was merelytomorrow’s chip paper, but in the time of theinternet these tales may live on forever and evenbe considered by some to be the truth and gaina life of their own. Look, for example, at some ofthe ludicrous stories that circulate about theEuropean Union. Many of these originate fromthe time that Boris Johnson was a Leader writeron The Times newspaper and was accused byfellow journalists of dishonest reporting whichcontained untruths designed to discredit theCommission. The Guardian journalist JohnPalmer went as far as saying that ‘as a journalisthe is thoroughly irresponsible, making upstories’ but these days all that is forgotten andonly the straight bananas are remembered.Then again, perhaps the stories of Boris fabri-cating tales are an internet myth of our age. So did Bob Holness play saxophone on GerryRafferty’s Baker Street? Is Walt Disney’s bodycryogenically frozen, and are the clues in thefilm of the same name, or should we just Let itGo?

A version of this article appeared in the LynnNews.

[email protected]

Pub Names

38 | Summer 2016


Norfolk Nips | Please support our advertisers

Summer 2016 | 39

I concluded my lecture on the Littleport riots byposing the question ‘Would it have been betterfor this country’s working class if Napoleon hadbeen victorious?’, so it was a little ironic that lessthan a week later I was queuing below thestatue of Oliver Cromwell (hero or villain?,discuss) waiting to pass through security toenter the Houses of Parliament.

I had been invited to attend CAMRA’s annualreception where members of the Campaign canmingle with MP’s and Lords in an informalsetting over a beer and canapes on the terraceoverlooking the river. It is no coincidence thatthis event is held just before the budget inMarch, when the gentle exhortations of ‘Lets’ cuttax on beer for the fourth year in a row’ are mostlikely to be effective. After passing through thegreat hall, the CAMRA party assembled in one ofthe side rooms for a last minute team talk, givingthe great and good of the organisation time to

cast surreptitious glances in my direction and askthe unspoken question – Who is he?

Soon we were on the terrace, which had beenmercifully covered to protect us from theelements. As the politicians arrived, we split upand engaged them in conversation, in my caseChris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnor, a verypleasant chap with a great enthusiasm forprotecting his local pubs. My invitation hadcome at the request of our local MP, Sir HenryBellingham and he soon arrived giving us thechance to collar the professional photographerfor some publicity shots, before he introducedme to some of his colleagues, James Cartlidge(West Suffolk), Sir Peter Bottomley (WorthingWest) and Simon Hoare, (North Dorset) the hostof the event.

It struck me that beyond the 10 second sound-bite on T.V. how normal, pleasant and

The Great and the Good

40 | Summer 2016

LIVE & LET LIVE“The Local’s Local”

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approachable our representatives are. However,with a gathering of a couple of hundred politi-cians and lobbyists there are bound to be somespeeches.

CAMRA Chairman Colin Valentine presentedawards to Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West)and Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) for theirwork in promoting beer and helping to savepubs, and the Pubs Minister, Marcus Jones(Nuneaton) announced that the governmentwas launching a fund of £3.62 million to helpcommunity groups who were attempting to savetheir locals by buying them out – more details onthe Plunkett Foundation websitehttp://www.plunkett.co.uk.

Then there was time for a word with MarcusJones, who is passionate in his support for localpubs, and Charlotte Leslie who managed to stoppolishing her award long enough to explain howridiculous it is that a pub can be converted into asupermarket without planning permission, but ifthe enterprise fails, it cannot be converted backto a pub without going through the planningprocess.

Sir Henry even introduced me to CAMRAChairman, Colin Valentine before suggesting thatwe went off and had something to eat in therestaurant, where I found that I have at least onething in common with David Cameron, as Iapparently chose the same dish as he had hadfor lunch that day.

So, thanks to Sir Henry for obtaining me aninvite, and local girl Andrea Briers, veteran ofthese occasions who kept an eye on me, I had agreat time and hopefully helped to persuade afew politicians of the importance of supportingpubs. We exited through a short cut straightfrom the building to the tube station, so Iescaped the watchful eye of Oliver Cromwell onthe way out and for at least one night I was gladNapoleon didn’t win.

A version of this article appeared in the LynnNews.

[email protected]

Summer 2016 | 41


The King’s Arms • MarthamThe Green, Martham, Norfolk NR29 4PL

5 real ales Real food

Real friendly Real cider Lovely stunning garden seating

For further informationplease call: 01493 749156

42 | Summer 2016


Summer 2016 | 43

Norfolk Nips | Obituary

We were sad to hear thatMike Tilbury has passedaway. He was firstelected in 1973 and hasheld the positions of bothCouncil Leader andBorough Mayor.

One of the things thathe will be rememberedfor is the instrumental role

he had in saving the last pub in the village ofGreat Massingham. The pub was under threat,having been closed for a number of years, andMike played a major role in persuading thecouncil to buy the pub to prevent it beingconverted in to a house. This allowed a consor-tium to purchase the pub and reopen it as theDabbling Duck. The pub has gone from strengthto strength since.

Mike was always happy to help others bypassing on the experience gained in saving thepub in Great Massingham and advised anumber of people who were in similar situationsthroughout the country. Our thoughts are withhis family at this sad time.

Mike Tilbury, Pub Champion

Left: MIke Tibury and Above: The Dabbling Duck,Great Massingham


44 | Summer 2016

Live Bands, Quiz and Poker Nights Check our website and Facebook page to stay updated

Fresh rolls served daily or bring in your favourite take-away

Free Wi-Fi • Dog friendly

Summer Beer FestivalThursday 30th June - Sunday 3rd July

BBQ all day and Live Music (Bunkadoos) in the evening on the Saturday.

Open Mon - Thurs 11-11, Fri -Sat 11-11:30

Sun 12-10:30.

We’rein it!

Horseshoes, AlbyBlack Boys, AldboroughLondon Tavern, AttleboroughCrown Inn, BanninghamBerney Arms, Berney ArmsChequers Inn, BinhamCock Inn, BarfordKings Head, BrookeArtichoke, BroomeGreen Gate, Caister-on-SeaReedcutter, CantleyCrown Inn, CatfieldGeorge Hotel, Cley-next-the-SeaThree Swallows, Cley-next-the-SeaVictory, ClenchwartonMuskett Arms, ClippesbyRed Lion, ColtishallUgly Bug Inn, ColtonAlbion, CromerCottage, CromerRed Lion Hotel, CromerRoyal Standard, DerehamBob Carter Centre, DraytonRailway, Downham MarketRoyal Standard, East DerehamQueens Head, EmnethErpingham Arms, ErpinghamBull, FakenhamWellington, FeltwellKings Head, FilbyRampant Horse, FreethorpeLocks Inn, GeldestonWherry, GeldestonDock Tavern, GorlestonMariners Compass, GorlestonDabbling Duck, Great MassinghamBarking Smack, Great YarmouthMariners, Great YarmouthOliver Twist, Great YarmouthRed Herring, Great YarmouthSt. Johns Head, Great YarmouthHill House, HappisburghFox & Hounds, Heacham

Kings Head, HethersettGreyhound Inn, HicklingPleasure Boat Inn, HicklingVictoria, HockeringSwan, HilboroughEagle, Hockham Buck, HoninghamWhite Hart, HoptonNelson Head, HorseyBrickmakers, HorsfordElm Farm Country House,Horsham St. FaithLive and Let Live, Kings LynnStar Inn, LessinghamSwan Inn, LoddonDog Inn, LudhamFox and Hounds, LyngAnchor Inn, MorstonWhite Horse, NeatisheadRelish Restaurant & Bar, NewtonFlotmanRailway Hotel, North ElmhamOrchard Gardens, North WalshamAdam and Eve, NorwichAngel Gardens, NorwichBeehive (Leopold Rd), NorwichBell Hotel, NorwichCellar House, NorwichChampion, NorwichCottage (Silver Road), NorwichDuke of Wellington, NorwichEarlham Arms, NorwichEaton Cottage, NorwichFat Cat and Canary, NorwichFat Cat Tap, NorwichFat Cat, NorwichGarden House, NorwichJubilee, NorwichKetts Tavern, NorwichKings Head, NorwichLeopard, NorwichLollards Pit, Norwich

Lord Rosebery, NorwichMaids Head Hotel, NorwichMurderers, NorwichPlasterers Arms, NorwichRed Lion (Bishopgate), NorwichReindeer, NorwichRibs of Beef, NorwichRose, NorwichSir Garnet, NorwichTake 5, NorwichTemple Bar, NorwichTrafford Arms, NorwichVine, NorwichWig and Pen, NorwichRoyal Oak, PoringlandFerry Inn, ReedhamShip, ReedhamKings Arms, ReephamSwan, RinglandThree Horseshoes, RoydonLobster, SheringhamWindham Arms, SheringhamChalk and Cheese, ShouldhamKings Arms, ShouldhamGoat, SkeytonPeddars Inn, SporleSprowston Manor Hotel &Country Club, SprowstonFerry House, SurlinghamLynn Arms, SyderstoneRed Lion, SwaffhamPelican Inn, TacolnestonRed Lion, ThetfordGunton Arms, Thorpe MarketQueens Head, ThurltonWhite Horse, UptonCherry Tree, WicklewoodWillow House, WattonStag, West AcreBell, WivetonWhite Lady, WorsteadGreen Dragon, WymondhamThe Mill, Yaxham

Here is a current list of all the pubs in Norfolk which are part of the CAMRA LocAlescheme. New entries are in Bold.

Winter 2015 | 45


46 | Summer 2016


Summer 2016 | 47

48 | Summer 2016


The April branch Meeting was held on 27th April at TheBeehive in Norwich and was chaired by Mr P Walter. ChrisBruton, who at the time was Chairman of the NationalExecutive, was in attendance as a guest.

It was reported that the first local beer guide was to beprinted and available for distribution by 17th May. Itwould contain 63 entries including The Bell Hotel, whichwas a late addition.

There were to be socials to Scole Beer Festival on 29thApril and Greene King Brewery on 11th May.

Chris Bruton gave a talk to the meeting. The main pointshe raised were :

• He said that real ale outlets in the area were improving.

• CAMRA HQ had approached The Director of FairTrading to look into areas where breweries have amonopoly (25% was considered a monopoly). i.e.Watneys in Norfolk!

• The Food Standards were to report to CAMRAregarding a definition of ‘real ale’.

The May Branch Meeting held on 26th May was also atThe Beehive and again with Mr P Walter in the Chair.There were 35 members in attendance.

Matters discussed here included were that the local beerguide will cost £130 to produce and if all copies were soldwould give a profit of around £500. Recent socials toWymondham had been a success although not particularlywell attended and a cricket trip to Stowmarket went well.

There was to be a social to Kings Lynn in the near futureand the Bystanders Beer Festival was to be in September.

The Wayland Show had shown an interest with CAMRAfor a beer festival. It was reported at the meeting that theBranch funds currently stood at £74.82.

The venue for the June Meeting was again The Beehivewith Mr P Walter in the Chair. Ian Myhill, the then AreaOrganiser was in attendance.

Business appeared to be dominated by the recent publi-cation of the ‘Real Beer in Norfolk’ guide which was beinglaunched on the night.

Members were invited to purchase the guide atdiscounted rate of 25p (the normal price being 30p). It was reported that breweries had paid £30 for advertsand that the local press and TV were to be approached tocover the launching of the guide.

A request was put out to members to assist in the distribu-tion of the guide as there were 2,000 copies to be sold.

There was a request put out to help compile a list of allpubs in the area in order to help CAMRA HQ with theirmonopolies research.

A recent social to Overstrand was very successful eventhough only 21 people attended. The next social was tobe to The Earle Arms at Heydon which was scheduled for14th July.

Other things of note reported at this meeting included -there would be no Ruddles in the City until at leastMay/June 1977. Adnams were apparently looking for apub in the City. ‘Whites’ in Norwich were installing handpumps.

Warren Wordsworth

A look back through some of TheBranch minutes of 40 years ago

Norfolk Nips | From the Archives (April–June 1976)

50 | Summer 2016


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

Albion, Cromer: 10% offreal ales, draught and bottled

The Bell, Norwich: 20% offall food. 50p off a pint (withyour CAMRA vouchers).

Brickmakers, Horsford:10p off a half, 20p off a pint ofreal ale.

Cherry Tree, Wicklewood:30p off a pint of Buffy’s

Compleat Angler,Norwich: 10% off all real ales

Green Gate, Caister-on-Sea: 20p off apint of real ale

Glasshouse, Norwich: 20%off all food. 50p off a pint(with your CAMRA vouchers).

London Tavern, Attleborough:20p off a pint of real ale

Leopard, Norwich: 10% offall real ales

Lollards Pit, Norwich: 10% off

Red Lion, Drayton: 10% off

Oliver Twist, GreatYarmouth: 10% off acrossthe board - please show cardbefore ordering

Railway, North Elmham:10% off B&B and camping

Plasterers, Cowgate,Norwich: 10% off all real ales(available to all customers onMondays)

The Rose, Queen’s Rd,Norwich: 15p off pints

Lighthouse Inn, Walcott:10% off all real ales

Rosebery, Rosebury Rd,Norwich: Selection of beersall at £2.50 on Monday nights,on production of a validCAMRA card.

The Whiffler, Norwich:50p off a pint (with yourCAMRA vouchers)

The Woolpack, Norwich:10% off

The St Andrews Brew-house, Norwich: 10% oftheir own real ales

If your pub or business offers adiscount to CAMRA, but isn'ton this list, please [email protected] and let us know the details(including any restrictions).Please note: We believe thediscounts listed are offered atthe time of going to press,however pubs may of coursewithdraw or change offers atany time!

Grab a CAMRA Discount at your local!The following local businesses offer a discount for CAMRA members (usually on presentation of aMembership Card):

Summer 2016 | 51

52 | Summer 2016

10 - 12 JuneA Right Royal Beer FestivalLive and Let Live, Kings LynnMusic all weekend and street partyon Saturday

18 JuneWest Acre Village FeteAbbey House, West AcreLocal real ale and cider available alsoBBQ, West Acre Trout, strawberries &cream and tea & cakes. Wellywanging, duck racing, rifle shootingcompetition, coconut shy, bowlingthe pig, tombola and raffle.

6 - 20 JuneHill House Summer SolsticeBeer Festival120 beers plus ciders and perriesTel: 01692 650 004

17 - 19 JuneJolly Sailors 7th Ale and Music FestivalBrancaster Staithe PE31 8BJTel: 01485 210314

30 June - 3 JulyKings Arms Beer FestivalNorwich NR1 3HQTel: 01603 477888

30 June - 3 JulyBeehive Summer Beer FestivalNorwich NR4 7PJ

2 JulyFeatherfestFeathers Public HouseTown Green, WymondhamTel: 01953 605675

7 - 10 JulyDereham Blues FestivalHeld in pubs and venues throughoutDereham with Howlin’ Wolf as theFestival Alewww.derehambluesfestival.org.uk

12 - 17 JulyHeathlands Beer Festival16 ales and 2 cidersBlofield Heath NR13 4QH

15 - 17 JulyLowestoft Town FC BeerFestivalWide range of ales and ciders. Live music.Love Rd, Lowestoft NR32 2PA

15 - 17 JulyCrusaders RUFC 8th Beer Festival30 ales and cidersCamping availableLittle Melton NR9 3NP

15 - 17 JulyNorth Norfolk Railway 15thBeer FestivalSheringham Station, NR26 8RAwww.nnrailway.co.uk

16 - 17 JulyThe Pleasure Boat InnWW1 Themed Beer Festival Hickling NR12 0YWTel: 01692 598870

16 - 17 JulyCrown Beer Festival, BBQ and Live MusicCrown, Catfield NR29 5AATel: 01692 580128

22 - 24 JulyReedham Beer FestivalChurch Rd, Reedham NR13 3TZAles, Ciders, Music and Food.

29 - 30 July19th King’s Lynn Beer FestivalStuart House Hotel, Goodwins Rd PE30 5QX Tel: 01553 772169Ales, Ciders, Music and Food

4 - 6 AugustAngel Inn Beer FestivalAngel Inn, Larling NR16 2QUTel: 01953 717963

5 - 6 AugustNorth Walsham Beer FestScout Hut, North Walshamnorthwalshambeerfestival.com

12 - 14 August7th Ranworth Beer & Cider FestivalVillage Hall, Broad Rd NR13 6HS

25 Aug - 3 SeptRailway Beer & Cider FestivalFree camping availableNorth ElmhamTel: 01362 668300

26 - 28 AugustPanther Beer FestivalStimpson’s Piece, ReephamTel: 01603 871163

26 - 29 AugustSwan, Loddon Beer FestivalChurch Plain, Loddon NR14 6LXLive Music on Sunday and CharitySummer Fair on Monday.

26 August - 5 SeptemberDuke of Wellington Beer FestWaterloo Rd, NorwichTel: 01603 441182

26 - 29 AugustGreen Dragon Beer Fest Wymondham NR18 0PHTel: 01953 607907

2 - 4 SeptNeslon Head Beer FestivalNelson Head, Horsey, NR29 4EETel: 01493 393378

2 - 4 SeptWymondham Rugby ClubBeer Festival50 beers and cidersTuttles Lane, Wymondham

There’s a festival near you! | Norfolk Nips

Beer Festival Diary

Summer 2016 | 53


Angel Gardens

Free House

96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT

01603 427490 www.norwichinns.comemail: [email protected]

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 Selected meals with a pint £10Up to NINE reasonably priced Real Alesincluding THREE guest ales and SIX

real ciders available.

Showing all SKY and BT Sports

Live entertainment every Saturday

Sunday Lunches served between 12-8Bookings advisable

FOUR REAL ALESWednesday Irish Folk Music

ursday Folk & Singing MusicFriday & Saturday Live Music

Sunday Folk Music

Large garden overlooking the River Wensum

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

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

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 and children’s play area.

Shooting parties, lunch & dinnermenus available

Victory Barn Function Roomfor Weddings and Parties

Come & visit Nelson’s local.Walsingham Road, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk PE31 8HN

01328 738241

54 | Summer 2016


“The Country Pub On The Edge of Town”Bacton Road, North Walsham NR28 0RA

OPEN ALL DAYFIVE REAL ALES

Meals Served 12noon to 2.30pm

and in the evening 6.30 to 9.30pm

Bookings 01692 404800

FREE

ACCESS

Summer 2016 | 55


Six Real AlesFine selection of Lagers & SpiritsGreat FoodBBQs and BuffetsLive Music EventsSunday Roast dinners served 12-5pm and only £8.95!

Monday Night QuizTuesday Night PokerFree Function Room HireHuge Beer Garden and Smoking AreaPool TableFreeview Sports Shown


Summer 2016 | 57

ExcitingSpecialsBoard

Available

Main Road, Clenchwarton, King’s Lynn PE34 4AQ

Traditional

Roast

every Sunday

(12 - 4pm)

2 Course

senior citizen

Meal £8.90

Tuesdays

(afternoon)

As usual, I leave writing this piece until the lastminute, a gentle reminder from editor does thetrick. I cannot use the excuse of being on holidayas I should know when the deadline is !

Going to the Hebrides on holiday, I was notexpecting many places to enjoy real ale, the truthbeing that I was not disappointed. Not one HotelI stayed in had any real ale on tap, several hadbottled, primarily from Skye Brewery. Only oneHotel had a handpump, but it looked a long timesince anything meaningful passed through it.Back to reality now, with the abundance of excellent pubs in our area.

Many congratulations to Kings Arms atShouldham for winning the West Norfolk Pub ofthe year, a very close fought contest, which isreally encouraging. How good to have so manyexcellent pubs in our Area. Every member cantake part in the judging of the county round, butbe quick as time is getting short. Kings Arms is upagainst the Fat Cat Tap in Norwich, good luck toall at the Kings Arms, they serve excellent ales andcider, have good, friendly staff, this pub really is atthe heart of village life, it deserves to take theCounty Award.

Congratulations also to the Railway atDownham Market, it is Norfolk Cider Pub of theyear and now goes forward to the Regionalround.

I recently attended the presentation for our Clubof the Year, which is the Ouse Amateur SailingClub in Kings Lynn. They were very pleased tohave won the award. The club overlooks the RiverOuse, which on a warm summers evening isprobably one of the best places to enjoy a pint.The winning combination of friendly staff, excel-lent beers and ciders and the location makes thisa worthy competitor for the Norfolk Club of theYear round.

Enjoy the summer. Keep drinking. Cheers

Steve Barker W.N. Chairman

Steve’s Words

58 | Summer 2016

Saving Pubs and Beer Quality

Summer 2016 | 59

Norfolk Nips | Last orders

This is my first column as Chairman of theNorwich & Norfolk Branch, and I should like tostart by thanking Warren Wordsworth for hishard work in the role over the last three years.

Having been brought up in Norfolk, andattended school in Norwich, I drank my first realales in the early 80’s in the iconic pubs of thetime, the Golden Star, the Ten Bells and thePlasterers - then three of the perhaps five or sixpubs selling real ale in the entire city! I movedaway from Norwich for almost thirty years, butreturned regularly to support Norwich City, visitmy parents who still live in Wroxham, andlatterly to work at the Beer Festival. I returned tolive in the Fine City six years ago, and thoughtI'd get involved in the local CAMRA branch - butnever expected to end up as chairman!

This is a critical period for CAMRA, which hasdecided to take a long hard look at what it is for,and what it should be doing. The organisationhas been hugely successful in some ways,preventing real ale from disappearing altogether,with nearly 180,000 members, and havinghelped achieve some remarkable wins in theareas of pub ownership and beer duty reduction.However, ‘proper’ pubs (by which I mean pubswhich are primarily wet-led, have regulars, staffwho know your name, and that indefinable ‘pubfeel’) are still closing, making it even harder forsmaller breweries to compete. Protection andpromotion of these pubs takes a lot of work, andalthough overall membership is rising, manybranches are struggling to find enough people todo it - even in a branch in a city like Norwich!

What’s the answer? Well, in my opinion,CAMRA needs to focus on two things: savingpubs, and beer quality. And in order to do this,it needs to attract a new generation of activists,otherwise it will, literally, die out. And thatmeans embracing (or at least politely shaking

hands with) the still-emerging craft beer revolu-tion, on the basis that quality beer helps keeppubs open, and while pubs are open, real aleand other good beer will survive and prosper.Perhaps in some sort of federal structure, wherethe Campaign for Real Ale, the Campaign forCraft Keg? and the Campaign for Real Cider &Perry work together under a common banner?

Solid common sense, or naive nonsense?That's for you to decide for yourself, but please,whatever you decide, get involved in helpingCAMRA make the right choice! Check out theRevitalisation Campaign website athttp://www.revitalisation.camra.org.uk/, cometo a Branch meeting, or come to the Forum onSeptember 3rd!

Ian StampNorwich and Norfolk Branch Chair

Norwich and North Norfolk Branch

Friday 3rd JuneFirst Friday Five – 8.00pm start Coach & Horses(Bethel), Coach & Horses (Trinity), Georgian Town-house, Temple Bar, Reindeer.

Saturday 11th JuneSummer Social – Trip to Colchester – Train 10.30out returning early evening.

Wednesday 15th JuneMidweek Stroll – Noon Trafford Arms, Kings Arms,Freemasons, Rose, Pig & Whistle.

Tuesday 21st JuneBranch Meeting and Social – 8.00pm White Horse,Chedgrave. Coach pick up Castle Meadow leaves7.15pm.

Friday 24th JuneCampaign Trip – Route tbc

Saturday 25th JuneNorwich City Pub Survey.

Friday 1st July First Friday Five – 8.00pm start Duke of Wellington,Angel Gardens, Rosebery, Dyers Arms, Fat CatBrewery Tap.

Saturday 9th JulySummer Barbecue – 7.30pm Beehive, Leopold Road.

Thursday 14th JulyMidweek Stroll – Noon Queen of Iceni, CompleatAngler, Red Lion, Adam & Eve, Wig & Pen.

Wednesday 20th JulyBranch Meeting – 8.00pm Ugly Bug Inn, Colton.Coach Castle Meadow 7.15pm.

Friday 29th JulyCampaign Trip – Route tbc

Friday 5th AugustFirst Friday Five – 8.00pm start Micawbers, TenBells, Plough, Rumsey Wells, Woolie.

Thursday 11th AugustMidweek Stroll - Noon White Lion, Golden Star,Woolie, Playhouse Bar, Rumsey Wells.

Thursday 18th August Branch Meeting – 8.00pm Beehive, Leopold Road,Norwich.

Friday 26th August Campaign Trip – Route tbc

Friday 2nd SeptemberFirst Friday Five – 8.00pm start Red Lion, LollardsPit, Castle, Cottage, Wig & Pen.

Sunday 4th SeptemberBowls Match vs Suffolk Branches at Caxton Club,Beccles – Coach from Castle Meadow at Noon.

Tuesday 13th SeptemberMidweek Stroll – Noon Earlham Arms, Black Horse,Alexandra, Belle Vue, Fat Cat.

Tuesday 20th SeptemberBranch Meeting – 8.00pm Humpty DumptyBrewery.

Friday 30th SeptemberTrip to Ascot Races and Beer Festival – Train fromNorwich – details tbc

West Norfolk Branch

Tuesday 12th JulyBlack Horse, Thetford

Saturday 30th July Pub crawl Norwich starting at The Coach andHorses, Thorpe Road at 11am

Tuesday 9th August House on the Green, North Wootton (TBC)

Tuesday 13th SeptemberRailway Docking (TBC)

Note: all Tuesday meetings start 8pm and normallyinclude a social

Norfolk Nips | Dates for your Diary

CAMRA Branch Calendar

Summer 2016 | 61

Norwich & Norfolk BranchChairman: Ian StampTel: 01603 665557Email: [email protected]

Secretary: Rob WhitmoreEmail: [email protected]

Social Secretary: Michael PhilipsEmail: [email protected]

Pubs Officer: Ian StampEmail: [email protected]

West Norfolk BranchChairman: Steve Barkeremail: [email protected]

Secretary: Ian Bailey

Contact: Ian BaileyTel: 01553 766904

Branch websites:www.norwichcamra.org.ukwww.camra.org.uk/wnorfolk

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

Published every 3 months by the Norwichand Norfolk & West Norfolk branches ofthe Campaign for Real Ale © N&N CAMRA 2016 Norfolk Nips is producedand distributed by members of the branch in their own time. Views expressed in Norfolk Nips are not necessarily those of the editor or ofCAMRA.

Edited by:Graham FreemanEmail: [email protected] LucasEmail: [email protected]

Design & Production:Daniel Speed - Orchard House Media01778 382758Email: [email protected]

Advertising:For advertising enquiries please contactJane Michelson on: 01778 [email protected]

Distribution:12,000 copies / four times a year

Norwich and Norfolk District: Adam Gannaway07720 512453 [email protected]

West Norfolk District: Ros Harre [email protected]

Branch contacts | Norfolk Nips

Contact Details

62 | Summer 2016

“Not just a Pub!”

REAL ALE • REAL WELCOME • REAL FOOD....Serving Main Meals, Bar Meals and Sandwiches

Food is available 7 days a weekCheck out our website for opening times and menu

FOR BOOKINGS Tel 01508 493734. Visit us online at www.poringlandroyaloak.com

44 The Street, Poringland NR14 7JT

Real Cider and Real Ale FestivalFri 26th to Mon 29th AugustMusic with The Dinsdales on friand Graham McGrotty on sat.

Norfolk Nips issue 177

Documents

Transcript of Norfolk Nips issue 177