NORFOLK NIPS WITH CASK FORCE 148 - Norwich … NIPS | Chairman’s Letter Norwich & Norfolk Branch...

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& CASK FORCE & CASK FORCE & CASK FORCE BIGGER AND BETTER! FREE Newsletter of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale No.148 Spring 2009 NORFOLK’S TRUE HERITAGE PUBS PUBS ON THE NORTH NORFOLK COAST BEEKEEPING BIRTH OF A BEER WITH HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY PLUS NEWS AND REVIEWS FROM YOUR AREA

Transcript of NORFOLK NIPS WITH CASK FORCE 148 - Norwich … NIPS | Chairman’s Letter Norwich & Norfolk Branch...

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Newsletter of the Norfolk Branches of the Campaign for Real Ale

No.148 Spring 2009

NORFOLK’S TRUEHERITAGE PUBS

PUBS ON THENORTH NORFOLKCOAST

BEEKEEPING

BIRTH OF A BEERWITH HUMPTYDUMPTY BREWERY

PLUS NEWS ANDREVIEWS FROMYOUR AREA

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Chris and Glynis invite you to the

Trafford Arms

Cask Ale, Good Food and Great Customers.

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

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Over the past few yearsMild has undergoneresurgence as a style,culminating in Hobson’s

Mild recently winning theChampion beer at the GreatBritish Beer Festival. Thesimple question has to be -why? The answer may besummed up in one word,quality. In living memory,Adnams Mild outsold itsfamous Bitter, a story repeatedin breweries across the land.But suddenly, it all turned bad,and in every sense of theword.

Mild was a major part of Britishdrinking tradition up until the1960’s, when declining alcoholicstrength and dubious brewingpractice of brewing a thinbitter and adding caramel (ourold friend the brewery financedirector in evidence again)turned it into a thin pastiche ofthe full flavoured smooth brewit had been.

Unsurprisingly, this watered-down liquid didn’t keep either,and the practices of some publandlords in attempting todelay it from ‘the corruption itso richly deserved’ largelysealed its fate as a beer. By the1990’s few brewers even both-ered producing mild, and itseemed destined to be nomore than a footnote in thehistory books.

Microbrewers had other ideashowever, and going back to

old brewing recipes they havecreated a new generation ofhigh quality products, usingdark roasted malts and tradi-tional hop varieties. Light mildshave also been reborn as abrewing style. Alcohol hasbeen restored to the product,with strengths varying from 3.2up to 5% - and the results havebeen outstanding.

A few regional brewers havekept the faith. (You may wishto sit down at this point as I’mgoing to say something niceabout Greene King.) Elgoods,Batemans and Greene KingMilds are all well worth investi-gating. The former, ‘Black Dog’,has won numerous brewingawards, as has Batemans Dark,and if you can find it themore’ish Greene King Mild isarguably the best beer that thebrewery regularly produces.Sadly however Adnams nolonger brew their excellent Mild,except on special occasions.

In the West Midlands Mildnever went away, and theNorwich Beer Festival sells largequantities every year from thatpart of the world. If you onlytry one mild at this year’sfestival then try and get hold ofsome Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild(6%), brewed to the samerecipe since the 1920’s. Malt,Fruit, Hops, Toffee, Nut flavours- I promise you’ll never see‘Mild’ quite the same wayagain!

Des O'Brien

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter

Norwich & Norfolk BranchChairman: Des O’BrienTel: 01603 270588Email: [email protected]: Graham FreemanTel: 07800 690048 Email: [email protected] Secretary: Tim MacDonaldTel. 01603 865505Email: [email protected]

West Norfolk BranchChairman: Tim SpitzerSecretary: Ian BaileyContact: Bruce WardTel: 01485 609107

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

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

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

Edited by:Andrea KirkbyTel 0794 856 9652Fax 0871 661 6367Email: [email protected]

Chris LucasEmail: [email protected]

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

Advertising:For advertising enquiries pleasecontact Chris Shilling on:Tel: 01778 4215050Mobile: 07736635916

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Chairman’s Bit

SPRING 2009 | 3

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NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk Chairman’s Letter

View From The West Norfolk Chair

SPRING 2009 | 5

This “View From The Chair’ charts a new course,and an exciting one, as “Cask Force” combineswith our sister magazine, “Norfolk Nips”. Sad ina way that we are losing a respected magazine in

“Cask Force”, but a good move because now that ourtwo magazines are together as one, hopefullyreaching a wider audience in covering the whole ofthe county. I must thank Chris ‘Stig’ Lucas for hisefforts in coordinating our stuff with the Norwichbranch.

Many of us in the West Norfolk branch know Norwichvery well, I’ve been drinking in the city’s pubs for agood many years (since about 1980 in my case!), weall know and attend the successful annual beer festivalin St Andrews and Blackfriars Halls, I’m proud of notmissing the event since my first foray there in 1986.My first festival ale was Bateman’s Victory, sunk inquick time, I was a tad merry for a while! In those earlyale days I also remember Wolf starting the Reindeer

Brewery in the pub of the same name, it’s changed alot over the years (as I have), thankfully The Reindeersurvives despite a rollercoaster ride. Norwich has beenknown as a top class city for real ale pubs for a longtime, a superb drinking city in fact, highlighted by thefact that the Fat Cat has been CAMRA’s national PubOf The Year twice, no mean achievement. And despiteits fair share of pub losses, which affects us all,Norwich continues to fly the flag for a beer style we alllove.

I have also gained many friends from within theNorwich branch over time, particularly that one mansupping machine Pete Wells (Hi Pete! Hello Sue!), andlook forward to making more. I’m sure this collabora-tion of out two magazines will benefit both branches,and introduce us to a wider public, not just CAMRApeople. Cheers!!!

Tim Spitzer - West Norfolk Chair

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6 | SPRING 2009

The Kings Head in NorthLopham that was reportedclosed in NIPS 146 opened itsdoors again just beforeChristmas.

Early this New Year in Norwichthere has been unwelcome badnews in that The Rosary andWoolpack (Golden BallStreet) have both closed. The reasons for closure of TheRosary are unclear as yet but inthe case of The Woolpack,media reports suggest that thepub itself was doing very welland had a very successfulChristmas and New Year periodbut the pubco owners havegone into administration.(According to a report in theMorning Advertiser, this was aSpirit pub, sold to TattershallCastle Group, then to FreeSpirit , then to the Good TimePub Company, which wentinto administration, and thento the Norwich Pub Company.That’s the way the pub businessworks – or doesn't work - thesedays...)

STOP PRESS!! - the Rosary isto be reopened by EnterpriseInns on 16th March. Let's hopeits new tenant has the samecommitment to real ale thatwe've seen in the past from thislovely pub.

The Cross Keys in Wymondhamalso closed just after Christmas.It is understood to be ownedby the same pubco as TheWoolpack in Norwich.The Bridge at Lenwade has

closed as from February, as hasThe Parson Woodforde inWeston Longville. Two Broad-land pubs, Coldham Hall inSurlingham and The Malt-sters Inn in Ranworth, havealso recently closed.

Worst hit for closures has beenFakenham, as The Star closedin February and it has beenreported that The CrownHotel, on the Market Place isdue to close in March.

There is a report that TheConstitution on ConstitutionHill is to close briefly for a shortperiod for refurbishment andthen re-open as a “real alefriendly “ pub.

Good news for real ale drinkersin Gorleston. They now have anew outlet- The Compass onMiddleton Road has beentaken over by the owners ofThe Mariners in GreatYarmouth, and has been re-named “The MarinersCompass” selling a goodrange of cask beers.

An application has beensubmitted to Great YarmouthPlanning Dept to demolishThe Admiral Seymour puband build houses on the site.

It has been reported in theMorning Advertiser that GreeneKing is to sell off 100 pubsfrom its estate. However, it isnot currently known whichpubs might be sold. Watch thisspace!

The Horse and Dray in BerStreet has been organising aseries of fundraising events toassist survivors of the Australianbush fires, including a raffleand special quiz nights. ThisAdnams pub is well known toAussies in Norwich and has sofar raised nearly 800 dollars(Aussie) for the Australian RedCross.

A Planning Application hasbeen submitted to BroadlandCouncil to convert The KingsHead at Horsham St Faithsinto a “residential dwelling”.

One more Broadland pub hasapparently recently closed-The Ferry on the banks of theriver Bure at Stokesby.

BREWERY NEWSFROM AROUNDEAST ANGLIA

Adnams is bringing back itsclassic Adnams Extra SpecialBitter – a previous ChampionBeer of Britain – to celebrateCask Ale Week 6-13 April.Adnams will also be supportingCask Ale Week with activities atmany of its pubs.

Greene King may not beCAMRA members' favouritebrewery but it is doing somethings right. It has just beenawarded the Red Tractor logofor its entire range of beers,witness to its support of EastAnglian barley producers. It is

Pub News | NORFOLK NIPS

Pub News

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the first brewery to win RedTractor accreditation across itsentire range of beers.

Batemans Dark Lord has wonbest beer in the 2008 Interna-tional Beer Challenge porter/stoutcategory. (Republicans rejoice,it's named after Parliamentarycommander Thomas Fairfax.)

Suffolk brewer Mauldons wonCAMRA Supreme ChampionBeer of East Anglia with itsBlack Adder. But Norfolkbrewer Wolf won the silverwith its Woild Moild. That's aremarkable one-two for thedark beers with Black Adderwinning the porter/stout cate-gory and Woild Moild, forthose of you who haven’tguessed or don’t speak fluentNorfolk, winning the Mildclass. Milton’s Marcus Aureliuscame in third (a Cambridgeshirebeer available at the WhiteLion in Oak Street, Norwich) –yet another dark beer, an‘Imperial Roman Stout’ of trulyImperial strength (7.5%).

Most of us think January salesonly happen on the HighStreet, but Wolf had its ownJanuary’sAle (geddit?) providedto landlords at a discount price.

Pubs that took part in thepromotion included the Dukeof Wellington, EatonCottage, White Horse atUpton, and Shoulder ofMutton in Strumpshaw.

Reedham brewer HumptyDumpty is working on a newEaster beer to be called BadEgg, a best bitter that’s on thedark side. (Doctor Who fansmay be tempted to ask whenwe are going to get the chanceto drink a pint of Bad Wolf...)Brewer Stephen George haswritten an article for us on howthe beer was created – andincludes the recipe.

OTHER NEWS

Norwich Evening News isrunning a ‘Love your local’campaign to promote our localpubs. It's very well worthreading – CAMRA memberswill recognise some of ourmuch loved publicansincluding Colin Keatley of theFat Cat and Chris Higgins ofthe Trafford Arms in theseries of articles. Find them on

the Evening News website atwww.eveningnews24.co.uk.

Recession bustersJD Wetherspoon made head-lines with its 99p pint ofGreene King. Other pubs, too,are helping drinkers make theirmoney go further. Recessionbusting pub grub is available atThe Townhouse carvery;weekday carvery meals are £3.50, with Greene King IPA,Fullers, and a guest beer avail-able to wash down your food.The Townhouse Hotel is at18-22 Yarmouth Road, ThorpeSt Andrew, Norwich.

At the Queen’s Head, Thurlton,one CAMRA member hasreported all real ales at £2.00 apint on Wednesdays. Members have reported othergood deals around Norfolk:St John’s Head, North Quay,Great Yarmouth is selling Elgood'sCambridge at £1.90 a pint.The Garden House at Hales isselling Woodfordes Wherry andNorfolk Nog at £2.00 a pint –in good condition according toour informant.The Ox & Plough, Old Buck-enham has been serving Ox Ale(Warrington's) at £2.20.Mariner’s Compass,Gorleston has Greek IPA in verygood condition for £1.50 andfilled rolls for 99p. A bargain!

Filled rolls at the Fat Cat are still 60p.

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News

SPRING 2009 | 7

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8 | SPRING 2009

NEWS FROM THE WEST

There is a lot of doom andgloom around on the pub frontin West Norfolk at the momentwith a whole host of pubsreported to be on the marketor struggling along withtemporary landlords. Howeverthere has been enough badnews recently, so lets concen-trate on the positives. Up onthe coast, the Jolly Sailors atBrancaster has been taken overand although the brewery hasgone it has been refurbished bythe new owners, and openedagain at the end of last year. Itis now part of a group of pubs,which include the nearbyWhite Horse, and the Fox atWillian in Hertfordshire, bothexcellent pubs and so shouldbe well worth a visit.

Another pub up near thecoast, which is being refurbishedand extended, is the KingWilliam at Sedgeford. Theworks include a new restaurant,reception area, disabled toilet& further 5 double bedroomsand is due to be completed onApril 6th.

When I first moved down toKings Lynn almost 30 yearsago, one of the few places for agood pint was the BankHouse on Kings StaitheSquare. Almost 20 years ago Iremember an excellent eveningwhen we wound up the oldSeven Sisters Social club andspent the remaining funds on ameal in their excellent restau-rant. It was a great loss to thetown when it became solicitor’s

offices a few years ago. Well –mourn no longer. The BankHouse is back! It is now a TownHouse Hotel with 10 bedrooms,but has also a Brasserie, WineBar and Coffee House. If youdon’t know the place it is wortha visit just to see this fine earlyGeorgian grade II listed buildingin the heart of Lynn’s historicwaterfront area (which doubledas New York in the longforgotten film Revolution). Wecalled in the other night andwere disappointed to find thatthe handpumps seemed to beout of use. We were told thatboth beers had been deliveredthat day and were probably notready, but I was offered asample of London Pride. As itturned out it was excellent.During the winter you may findthat they only offer Adnams,but if the demand is there theywill run two beers. Lets seewhat we can do...

It’s all change along the river-side with the departure of RonBone from the Ouse AmateurSailing Club. Ron has been looking after thebeer there ever since I joined,many, many years ago and hewas good enough to win thetitle of CAMRA national club ofthe year, and will be a hard actto follow. Thanks for manygreat pints! Almost next door,we hear that Roger at theCrown and Mitre is finallyabout to install the brewery thathas been promised for manyyears. Be warned that he is notever so keen on CAMRA (espe-cially that ‘Scottish woman’,whoever that is), so don’t go inthe stained tee shirt andsandals!

Another pub that was one ofthe must visit places in WestNorfolk 30 years ago was theWoolpack at Walpole CrossKeys. Since then it had fallenon hard times but it is good toreport that it is up and runningagain. West Norfolk Branchhad a rather cold and wet walkand Sunday lunch in Januaryand we were greeted with awarm welcome and an excel-lent carvery. Tuesday night issteak night, and they have anexcellent chef – who will evencook you a meal to take home.If you do visit, and you should,look out for the vintage tablefootball machine – ask aboutthe history of it!

Down at Downham Marketwe hear that there is a new baron the station platform. It wasdue to open as I write theselines so I can’t give a first handreport, but I do know someonewho has peered through thewindow and excitedly reportsthe presence of handpumps.Another great station bar in thetradition of Stalybridge, Kidder-minster and Bridgenorth?....and Worksop, Bury, Port-madoc......is there somethingabout Real Ale and Trains?

Other places that haveimpressed recently include theRose and Crown at Snet-tisham, which is the sister hotelto the Bank House. We visitedearly on a Sunday eveningwhen it was very quiet, darkand cold outside. The welcome was warm andthere were roaring firesthroughout the many rooms.Somehow it made winter morebearable.

Pub News continued | NORFOLK NIPS

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SPRING 2009 | 9

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub News continued

Not far away is the KingsHead at Great Bircham. This was our branch pub of theyear a couple of years ago, andit is still serving an absolutelyexcellent pint of Adnams.Recently they have had jazz inthe bar and are running a seriesof race evenings over the nextfew months.

Not far away is the Neptunein Old Hunstanton. Thingshave changed since Henry ranit, and it is now one of the veryfew places in Norfolk to boast aMichelin Star award for thequality of their food.

Congratulations to the newowners, Kevin and JackiMangeolles, who have transformed the place with aNew England theme. I havenot visited the pub for a while

and would be interested toknow if there is any decent beerto go with the excellent food.

Jeff

The Real Ale Shop, Branthill Farm- is celebrating winning theOLN Independent Beer Retailerof the Year award, following upon a recent CAMRA IndependentBeer Online Retailer award. TheOLN award was received at theDorchester Hotel.

Vojtech Ludvik (Roy)Levin 1921 - 2009We were all saddened to hearof the death of the man we allknew as Roy Levin. Roy wasborn in a small town outsidePrague in the then Czechoslo-vakia in 1921 and sent to

England by his parents in 1938as things there got worse. Royserved in the Czech armyduring the war and won theMM for saving the life of acomrade in combat after D-Day. Unable to return to hishomeland, he made a life here,working in textiles and at theage of 40 retraining as acomputer programmer. In1960 he married Jill and bothwere regular attendees at WestNorfolk CAMRA meetings. Roywas a very intelligent man witha wicked sense of humour andhad , being a Czech, beer inthe blood. I knew him in hislater years when illness hadweakened his voice, but hewas always worth listening to.Our thoughts go out to Jill andthe family. Cheers, Roy, we’llmiss you.

Chris Lucas

For 2009: FIVE DAYS

Thursday 18th June to Monday 22nd June inclusiveAt least 80 Beers & Ciders (and the odd perry) from far and wide, at competitive pub prices.

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

Family Friendly

CAMPING AVAILABLEOne Off Entry payment of £4.00 valid for the

whole weekend. (Numbered wristband - numbersentered into a Grand Prize Draw).

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

Hill House Inn - Happisburgh

FREE PRINTED FESTIVAL GLASS AND TASTING NOTES.

Food served all day.

Festival T-Shirts available

Come and join us at the independent festival by the sea.

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10 | SPRING 2009

Now Open in Gorleston: The Mariners Compass21 Middleton Rd, Gorleston

8 Real Ales plus a selection of CidersTel: 01493 659494

The MarinersAle and Cider House

‘Cornish Beer Festival’Good Friday Apr 10th to Easter Monday Apr 13th

20+ Cornish Beers ; Cornish Pasties ; Scones and Clotted Cream!Tel: (01493) 332299 E-Mail: [email protected]

69 Howard Street South, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. NR30 1LN

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NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its

SPRING 2009 | 11

Victoria – HockeringSingle bar pub just off the A47. The Landlord is areal ale enthusiast and this shows in the beerchoice. The two pumps are constantly changingwith beers from all over the country. Unusuallyfor a rural pub wet sales dominate with the onlyfood being light snacks. Draught Perry is alsoavailable. Worth a visit when you’re in the area.

Angel – Swanton Morley An excellent country pub at the southern end ofSwanton Morley. Good for a choice of beers,plus it normally has Mighty Oak Oscar WildeMild on. Genuinely friendly and welcoming, it isone of the few pubs I know of that actuallyoffers a good choice of hot food on a Sundayrather that stick to the ubiquitous Hobson’schoice of roast dinner.

Queens Head – Thurlton Very quiet when I visited on a Tuesday inFebruary but the weather was not up to muchand the temporary closure of the Reedham ferrymeant that passing trade was virtually non-exis-tent. It is a large modernised single bar pub withtwo real ales at least one of which will be fromHumpty Dumpty or Blackfriars breweries.

Gull – Framingham Pigot Very much a food pub with an interesting mix ofEnglish and Continental dishes, but that said thereal ales are all on gravity, always the best way toserve beer in my opinion. The regulars are Abbotand Wherry but the third beer is ever changingand was from Oakham when I called in.

Golden Star – Norwich I think that the front bar of this pub is the mostunspoilt within the city walls, a possible candi-date for CAMRA’s Regional Inventory of PubInteriors. The bar back is especially noteworthy.The only drawback is the regular choice of beer,I am not a fan of the products of a certainbrewery in Bury St Edmunds. This is a pub

where I peer through the window beforeventuring in. I was in luck this time as the guestwas from Holdens - Golden Glow, and verygood it was too.

Gatehouse – Norwich Just of the ring road on the Dereham Road thispub is pub is an architectural gem both exter-nally and internally. A roaring fire on a coldSaturday afternoon made it even better. All thereal ale here is served by gravity and currentlythe house special is Grain Oak at £2 per pint. A must visit on every count.

Cock - Barford Visited on a January evening in the course ofsurveying pubs for the next GBG, which was notan onerous task as it is my personal favouritepub in South Norfolk.

The main bar with its open fire and pine furni-ture is always welcoming especially on a coldnight. The Blue Moon beers are now brewed byWinters, rather than on site, and are just as goodas before. Easy Life and Sea of Tranquillity arethe regular beers but my personal recommenda-tion would be the winter beer Hingham High,served on gravity and very tasty indeed.

Ugly Bug Inn – Colton A pub that truly deserves the much used term“off the beaten track”, and proves the worth ofpurchasing the CAMRA GBG file for your TomTom. I hadn’t visited the pub for some time andI found it much improved, especially in theheating department. The regular beer is Worththe Wait from the Beeston brewery, and theguest was Black Dog from Elgoods. The pub isnoted both for its food and for regular live jazz.If you are tempted to visit the Landlord reckonsthe best approach is from the new roundaboutat Honingham on the A47.

Pub Post-itsWe have more post-its this month from our correspondents. Keep them coming! All opinionsin the Post-its are of course the personal opinions of our correspondents - not of CAMRA.

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12 | SPRING 2009

Crown, Burston Comfortable rural pub well worth seeking out.Sofas round an open fire in the main bar, goodfood served in the separate dining room,Adnams and Abbot on gravity and local beersincluding Elmtree on hand pump. I can safelysay that it ticks all my boxes.

Cock, Diss An excellent town pub on the outskirts of Diss.We went in early on a Tuesday evening and itwas busy, nice to see in these troubled times forthe pub trade. The four drinking areas arecomfortably furnished and the large central bargives plenty of opportunities to get served,unlike some places where the bar huggersmake each pint a challenge.

Fighting Cocks,Winfarthing I must confess I only get to visit this pub once ayear when I am doing GBG surveys, but eachtime it gets better. New, more comfortablefurniture has been purchased and the wholepub feels neater and warmer than before.There was a large shooting party being fed andwatered when we walked in and the foodcertainly smelt good. The choice of AdnamsBitter by hand pump or gravity from the samecask is an unusual feature.

Kings Head,New Buckenham Proper village pub slap bang in the middle ofthis orthogonal medieval grid pattern formermarket town. The owners have spent a lot oftime and money renovating the interior andthe back room really shows the fruits of theirlabours. The brick and tile floor, the pine tablesand chairs and the log burning stove give it theair of a pub of yesteryear, enhanced by thevenerable locals found drinking there mostlunchtimes.

Mariners Compass, Lowestoft Rd. GorlestonOpened last Friday. 4 ales, could only try theAdnams Old, in excellent condition.Large tradi-tional main road pub, two bars, one with apool table, and a real ale bar with a roaring fire.Up to 8 beers, mostly from local breweries, and

on the day I went, the landlord's first batch ofhis own Cider was on sale - excellent and alsohigh strength, 9%! Fortunately no Guardian.

King’s Arms, BlakeneyI went to the Kings Arms on Dec 28th with 4friends. They had Adnams best, Wherry, BlackSheep and Pedigree. Between us we covered allof them and were all of good condition. Can’tquite recall prices but believe an average of£2.70 a pint. It was lunchtime and busy withdiners but we found room near the bar. Verycomfortable pub and would recommend

The Ship, South WalshamNow open as a restaurant / bar, servingAdnams & Wherry. The Adnams I had was ingood condition.

Kings Arms, AcleA large genuine pub, with that rare thing, twoseparate defined bars, both with lots of char-acter. GK IPA and Speckled Hen, and AdnamsBitter. Hen and Adnams in very good condition,didn't bother with the IPA. Warm welcome, andan interesting looking menu too. Worth adetour off the A47.

King William, SedgefordCurrently undergoing refurbishment, expectedto re-open in April.

Neptune, HunstanstonChef, Kevin Mangeolles has recently beenawarded a Michelin star.

Bull, LitchamHas re-opened.

New Inn, South Wootton Difficult to tell what’s going on, opening seemssporadic.

Ostrich, Castle Acre Re-opened last Saturday after refurbishment.Now under the same management as TheDuke’s, Rudham & Crown, Wells.

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King William, Sedgeford Recent reports in Lynn News over local resi-dent’s disquiet over new ventilation outlets(planning permission already granted).

Crown & Mitre, Lynn Six handpumps, two in use but one ran outduring the visit. Beers drinkable but nothingspecial. The “interesting character” behind thebar used increasingly “interesting” language, allnegative toward a variety of targets. The pub’snew brewery, due to open soon is expected tobe called Anchor Brewery. Remarks were maderegarding rhyming slang and the pub’s owner.No explanation was made.

White Hart, FouldenContrary to rumours circulating, this continuesto trade as previously.Neptune, Old Hunstanton Recently awarded a Michelin Star for its food.

Lattice House Appeared not to have heard of CAMRA.

Feathers, Dersingham (Punch)Adnams, Bass & guests OK, little change, StablesBar Re-opened.

Coach & Horses, DersinghamThriving, various beers on.

Bank House, LynnBeware, still no pump clips to be seen. LondonPride excellent, Adnams good.

Lodge, FeltwellBeing refurbished, due to reopen soon.

Old White Bell, Southery Bikers’ night, last Sunday each month.

Union Jack, Roydon Following Mark Riches’ attendance at our recentmeeting there, they have stocked three Beestonbeers. Interest shown in other Norfolk beers. Do not be surprised to get a request for LocAleAccreditation.

Comfort Inn, NorthwoldNow closed in the wake of the owning companygoing into administration.

Michael Croxford, Des O'Brien, Mark Fulcher,Andrea Kirkby

We have really stimulated debate with ourPost-Its – for which I make no apologies.Everyone is different, and it's important that weprovide an unvarnished view of our Norfolkpubs. I think most readers would agree that thefact that most of our reviews are positive reflectsthe excellence of our Norfolk pubs!

This month we've had plenty of feedback fromother CAMRA members and from landlords –please do keep the letters coming.

Michael Cullup writes:I was very surprised to read the approving noteabout THE CHAMPION in the current 'NorfolkNips'. Several weeks ago, this pub changedhands and the new managers have, in myopinion, provided an appalling service. On twooccasions, I've found their mild practicallyundrinkable, and no food has been availablesince the previous tenants left. Of course, thismay have changed since I was last in the pub -near the beginning of December.

This used to be an excellent little pub and, aftera couple or so duds, a brilliant manager took overand the service was friendly and lively, and therewas always food available.

I'll check the pub out shortly - but I'd be surprisedto see a change for the better. The advert on page34 of 'Norfolk Nips' is quite misleading. It's alsosuch a pity that this pub is in the current '2009Good Beer Guide' at the expense of, say, a reallygood Norwich pub like 'The Ribs of Beef', whichhas long deserved an entry.

Warren Wordsworth commented:I was a little disappointed at these commentsmade on the Champion. The problem is I thinkthat the new

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14 | SPRING 200914 | SPRING 2009

Norwich’s oldest alehouse

Four Real Ales Aspells Cider & over 50 Malt Whiskies.

Food served from 12noon-7pm Monday to Saturday. 12noon-5pm Sunday

17 Bishopgate, Norwich NR3 1RZ 01603 667423

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

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

Good covered outside areas • Doggies welcome

“a festival of beers every day”

96 Angel Rd, Norwich NR3 3HT

01603 427490

email: [email protected]

Angel Gardens Free House

Under same ownership for 21 years

Six reasonably priced Real Alesincluding three guest ales

Home Cooked FoodLive Music on Saturdays

Beer Garden with heated smoking shelter

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

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landlord is not a particularly outgoing sort of aperson and this has been misconstrued asunfriendly. Living quite close I visit the place abit and have found once you get to him he isvery friendly but agree strangers visiting may notfind him so as appeared to be the case on theChristmas crawl.

As far as beer range and quality are concernedI've had no problems. He has increased his beerrange to include Bateman's seasonal beers aswell as the usual XB XXXB, Woodforde's Wherryand Nelson's Revenge.

Warren

Dear AndreaI was disappointed you printed the second letteron page 17 of last issue "White Lion reopening".The amount of column inches the Nips usesbemoaning the closing of pubs! Why when amuch loved old friend reopens do you need touse such a letter, which could harm theirchances of success? For the Milton Brewery tohave made such a brave move - and no smallinvestment in these troubled times - should begiven every bit of support we can offer. After allyou might expect the smell of paint when a pubis refurbished!I would also have expected thatdrinking in the street is generally not allowed.

The welcome I received on my first visit couldnot have been nicer, they had 6 hand pumpsand the beer is well looked after and presented.All any CAMRA member could ask for. I noticethe correspondent was anonymous. Love Nipsotherwise - keep up the good work.

RegardsColin Allen

Andrea Kirkby comments:We did try to provide a balance of views bycommissioning a second article from anotherCAMRA member who had a more positive experi-ence of the White Lion. As always it's horses forcourses – I must admit I love the dark Milton beerslike Marcus Aurelius and have found it a super littlepub (including the landlord's special cough mixturewhen I was under the weather!), so as always I'dencourage readers to go and make up their ownminds!

White Horse at ChedgraveAs the landlord of the White Horse at Ched-grave, I would like to reply to your “pub postit’s” article in issue no 147.

The White Horse Chedgrave is tied to PunchTaverns. I am the lessee, having acquired theresidual lease with 22 years left - very much along term investment. Since taking on the pubin March 2008, I have organised two beer festivals, one around St George's Day and onearound Remembrance Sunday. Being a Norfolkboy, I like to “do different”. Our events so farhave included: Last night of the proms, BurnsNight, Bastille Day (French Food and musicalentertainment) And we are preparing for our 1st year anniversary when we will have a freebarbecue for all our customers (old and new!) onApril Fool’s Day.

We are in the 2009 Good Beer Guide, we haveCask Marque and Beautiful Beer Gold accredita-tions, the latter of which passed at 96%.

The pub has excellent support with TimothyTaylor Landlord our best selling real ale. I wouldlike to state that I have never sold a stale pint of

Landlord. Our turnover is such that this wouldbe impossible! Also, we have never refused toexchange a pint - customers of real ale areoffered tasters before they buy. With regards tohaving Bass as a guest ale, “Dangerous Brian”likes Bass and so do many more of my locals. As mentioned before, we are tied to a PubCo -so are restricted as to the beers we can sell - socan't always offer locally produced ales as muchas we'd like to.

Alternatively, your post-it contributor couldattend our next beer festival : Wednesday 22ndto Sunday 26th April, during which there will beover 20 real ales and ciders available to try. Also, they could take part in our pro-am bowlscontest, enjoy “the Kemps Men” dancing or appreciate the live music on offer. All of these

things aimed and helping he/she “cheer them-selves up!”.

Simon Peck

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its continued

SPRING 2009 | 15

Continued Overleaf

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The ROSESAUSAGE & BEER FESTIVAL

EASTERFEST!FRIDAY 10th – SUNDAY 19th ARPILBEERS FROM WALES & NORFOLK

& LOTS OF SAUSAGES!

THE ROSE INDEPENDENT FREEHOUSE235 QUEENS RD, NORWICH NR1 3AE Tel: 01603 767713

The KETTS TAVERNNew Managers KEV and DORRY invite you to experiencethe food, fine ales and fantastic atmosphere of The KETTS

4 Beer Festivals A YearBuffys Norwich Terrier £2.20

Food served 12 -2.30pm and 6 -9pmBacon Baps served all day!

The Conservatory Coffee ShopLarge Car Park

A Very Warm Welcome!

THE KETTS TAVERN INDEPENDENT FREEHOUSE29 Ketts Hill, Norwich NR1 4EX Tel: 01603 449654

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WOULD YOU ADAM ‘N’ EVE IT?As the proud landlady of the oldest pub inNorwich – with a history spanning back towhen masonry craftsmen were buildingNorwich Cathedral and unloading huge stonepieces at Pulls Ferry – I can clearly see why bothmy own pub, The Adam and Eve, and the Ribsof Beef and Mad Moose Arms gainedfavourable reviews in the AA’s 2008 Pub Guide.

Notwithstanding the Adam and Eve’s fasci-nating history and the fact we are perceived asa significant tourist attraction and wonderfulwatering hole to quench one’s thirst and enjoygood food in one of the most hospitable ofNorwich pubs, I also happen to be sellingFOUR quality real ales…including Adnams BestBitter, Old Peculier, Bombardier and Moletrap!

I didn’t go lobbying the AA Pub Guide’s jour-nalist who wrote the review, including thecherry picked plaudit, “The perfect pub everytime…” (or choose the criteria for beingfeatured) but like the owners of the MadMoose Arms and Ribs of Beef, I’m justifiablyproud to be included in the AA’s 2008 PubGuide and any other respected publicationwhere my support of Real Ale and reputationfor selling quality food, wines, spirits and beerat value-for-money prices is recognised byprofessional journalists, visiting tourists, daytrippers, and Norwich and Norfolk residentswho know a good Real Ale when they drinkone (or four)!

Cheers!Rita McCluskey

Landlady of the Adam and Eve in Norwich

This was sent in response to the 2008 AA Pub Guidearticle in issue 147 on page 5

NORFOLK NIPS | Pub Post Its continued

SPRING 2009 | 17

Short Measure?If you are unhappy about the service you getin a pub, i.e. short measures, lack of a pricelist, or misleading listing of products,contact: Norfolk County CouncilTrading Standards Department at County Hall, Martineau Lane, NorwichNR1 2UD. Tel: 01603 222177

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18 | SPRING 2009

National Inventory Pubs | NORFOLK NIPS

Norfolk’s True Heritage Pubs

the National Inventory of Pubswith Interiors of OutstandingHistoric Interest is CAMRA’spioneering effort to identify and

help protect the most importanthistoric pub interiors in the country. It has been part of the Campaign’smission for the past 35 years to saveBritain’s rich heritage of pubs as wellas promote real ale.

A guide book subtitled “Britain’s TrueHeritage Pubs’ was issued in 2003 andthe current list of pubs can be viewedon www.heritagepubs/org.uk. It includes 200 Part One entries - pubswhose interiors have remained largelyunaltered since before World War Two;and Part Two Part Two which lists 80pub interiors that, although altered,have exceptional rooms or features ofnational historic importance.

CAMRA’s next step has been todevelop a second tier of inventories,each covering a particular part of theUK. East Anglia’s True Heritage Pubswill shortly be visible on the CAMRAheritage pubs website. Surveying hasidentified a number of such pubs in

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Norfolk and this is the first of aseries of articles to bring thesespecial and rare pub interiors tothe attention of Norfolk Nipsreaders. We aim to point outthe reasons for inclusion andhope you will visit them andsee for yourselves the featureswe highlight.

The focus is entirely on interiors and what is authenti-cally old. To be included thepub should retain a reasonableamount of genuinely historicinternal fabric and / or suffi-cient of the layout for thehistoric plan-form to be appreciated and understood.The emphasis is on pre-1939interiors, although post-warexamples might occasionallybe considered if they haveparticular merit / qualityfittings. The interior should belittle altered in the past 40years.

Gate House, NorwichThis issue we are featuring the

Gate House, 391 DerehamRoad, Norwich NR5 8QJ. It issituated just off the outer ringroad. It was re-built byMorgans Brewery in 1934 in adistinct Mock Tudor style witha round tower-like section onthe left. Look for the stone

mullioned windows featuringstained glass roundels, withvarious symbols relating to theBayeaux Tapestry. As was

popular with the higher qualitybuilt pubs of the 1930s theinterior is panelled throughout.

The main Baronial Hall-stylebar retains the original counter,bar back with old till drawer,and a cigar cabinet with leadedwindows. The original brickfireplace remains; in the mid1980s panels were removedfrom either side of it to makeaccess to the room easier.

Originally on the right therewas a panelled passagewayfrom the front door leading tothe small counter which wasthe original off-sales. In the1970s the wall separating theoff-sales and the snug on theright was removed.

To the left of the main bar awall was removed, also in theearly 1970s, to link it with whatis now a games room in thesplendid circular tower-likesection on the left of thebuilding – look for its originalentrance to the room on theleft side. You will notice a smallalcove just past the dividing

wall - this was the originalladies which was relocated tothe rear of the pub in the1970s and this involved short-ening the original counter towhat now looks like a small butdisused hatch. The gamesroom retains its original Tudorarch stone and brick fireplace.Another item of note is thedecorative frieze of hops andacanthus leaves situated above

the panelling in all the rooms.The back door leads to anexternal staircase, and at thebottom there is a loggia (acovered patio) and extensivegardens down to the banks ofthe River Wensum. There is aGarden Bar, added in the1990s, which can be broughtinto use. All the alterations havebeen handled in a sympatheticmanner – even the porch onthe front of the pub that wasadded in the 1970s is in thestyle of the original building.

SPRING 2009 | 19

Continued Overleaf

Above: The ‘Baronial Hall-like’ main bar of the Gate House, NorwichOpposite: The 1930s fireplace and decorative frieze.

Exterior of the Gate House, withits distictive tower-like section.

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20 | SPRING 200920 | SPRING 2009

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The Gate House has beenowned for the past 12 years byJohn Gates and he sells GrainOak, Woodforde’s Wherry,Greene King IPA and Abbot.Opening hours are 12 to 11(midnight Fri, Sat). No hotfood is served. Live music everyFri and Sat evenings from8.30pm. 01603 620340.

Earle Arms, HeydonA contrast to the Gate House,which is very much a drinker'spub, is the Earle Arms in theestate village of Heydon, wherethe original main bar has beenconverted into the diningroom. Only one access roadleads to this unspoilt village

and this 18th-century pub isopposite the green. Now afreehouse, it was leased toBullards and has a distinctiveWatney Mann inn sign datingfrom the 1970s. It claim tofame is that it appeared as the`Winterman Arms' in the situa-tion comedy ‘Up Rising’, filmedduring July 1999. The largeentrance lobby has an oldpanelled dado and to the rightis the former public bar, now adining room – note the figure'1' on the door, which was arequirement of the licensingmagistrates – every publicroom and the cellar wouldhave a number. This small

room has an old panelleddado, a wood surround andbrick fireplace with a fine set ofcurious old cupboards, two oneach side. The bar counter ismore of a hatch than a bar -the handpumps serving localbeers being situated adjacentto the bar back shelving, whichmay be at least 50 years old.

To the left of the entrancelobby is the current bar,formerly the lounge, with anumber '2' on the dado. It hasa Norfolk pammet floor and anold brick fireplace with a logfire. Up to the early 1970s ithad a tiny quarter circle bar,which was then replaced by alarger wooden counter, subse-quently removed in 2006; nowit has a modern brick bar. Onthe right there is a furtherpublic room, which has beenbrought into pub use, and hasa 1950s tiled fireplace andbench seating. Further backthere is a small conservatory.

The pub has been run byAndrew Harrison-Taylor for 10years and he sells Woodforde’s

Wherry, Adnams Best Bitter anda guest beer, often from a localbrewery such as Yetman’s.Opening Hours are from 12 to3; and 6 to 11 Tuesday toSaturday (pub closed all day onMondays); 12 to 10.30Sundays. Food is servedlunchtimes and evenings.01263 587376. The post codeis NR11 6AD.

Text and photographs by Mick Slaughterof CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group

NORFOLK NIPS | National Inventory Pubs continued

SPRING 2009 | 21

The ‘Baronial Hall-like’ main bar of the Gate House, Norwich

Exterior of the Earle Arms,Heydon still with its 1970sWatneys inn sign

The hatch at the Earle Arms,Heydon – note the handpumpsare attached to the bar back

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22 | SPRING 2009

When I first starteddrinking in pubs (moreyears ago than I'drather remember) the

choices you had about what todrink were relatively simple,especially if you could find oneof those rare pubs that servedproper cask ale. I grew up inthe North West Midlands,around Stoke-on-Trent; thelocal area was awash withAnsells and Whitbread, servedfull of gas. Even back then, mypreference was for the Robin-sons, Burtonwood andMarstons pubs, where the beerserved was somethingdifferent.

Even in those wonderfuldrinking establishments, thechoices were pretty limited. Ifyou were lucky, there'd be abitter and best bitter – in reallyspecial cases perhaps even achoice of three! But almostevery pub I frequented alsohad at least one mild, some-times two – something thatbecame a rarity for many ayear. I've many a fond memory

(?) of Marston's Merrie Monk,which used to be a regularrather than an occasional guestbrew, as it seems to be today.Yet, sadly, that seems to be thenorm rather than the exceptionfor many breweries.

Milds have become an occa-sional or seasonal brew – and Ithink we, the drinking public,have our options sadly reducedbecause of that. When was thelast time you saw a bottledmild in a supermarket? A veryrare sight indeed.

Whilst there was an elementof “old man's drink” about it,there was also the oppositeend of the drinking spectrum –the young drinker, still todevelop a liking for the taste ofbitters. It makes you wonder if,instead of hurtling headlongdown the “we have to havelager-look-alike real ales for theyoungster” route, perhaps theidea of mild as an introductionto real ale is something to belooked at again. As a “mildlyhopped” beer, it could be theideal introduction, especiallywhere body and flavourcombine to give a very palat-able drink.

There should be a hint ofsweetness and a good caramelflavour, combined with a goodbody of taste. Yes, sometimesthe body can be a little thin,but that's often the case withmany low-gravity beers, bittersincluded. Mind you, there aresome brewers who can

manage to squeeze a very fullbody into their lower gravitymilds (as anyone who's enjoyeda pint of Dark Fantastic will tellyou).

And before the cry of “butmild is a dark beer and we onlylike lighter ones” even starts torise, there were (and still are)both dark and light milds.Taylor's Golden Best is a goodexample of the latter, but thereare others worth finding –there's usually a couple at theBeer Festival come October.

So, to any brewers out there,why not explore this sadlyoverlooked part of our brewingheritage? And congratulationsto those local brewers whoalready do – there are manyfine examples of local brewedofferings.

The first thing to do is to findone though! Not that long agofinding a mild wasn't easy.Happily, there are a number ofour city pubs now that regu-larly carry at least one: the FreeHouses like The Kings Head,Trafford Arms and Duke ofWellington spring to mind.

Whilst both Elgoods BlackDog and Batemans Dark Mildare easy to find (being regularlycarried in the brewery outletsin the city) and are both verypalatable, a number of oursmaller, local, brewers' offeringsare also worth finding out. Tosingle out just a few....

Mild | NORFOLK NIPS

Mild Child

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I've already mentioned DarkFantastic from Spectrum(3.8%), which is definitelyworth finding, and it won'tsurprise those who know methat it's a favourite of mine. A very dark red colour with agood, classic mild-malt tastethat I find lingers very nicelyright through to the finish. Oneof these days I'll find it at thesame time as the Lightfantastic, and try a “pint ofmixed”, just to see, and remi-nisce about the days of myyouth!

Another one with a full bodyis Tipple’s The HangedMonk (3.8%). Plenty of maltin the aroma and taste of thisone too, which gives it asmooth, sweet flavour that's sotypical of a good mild. It'sanother one where I find thetaste lasts, and there's bags ofchocolate taste that stays rightthrough to the finish. If you'rein the area, drop in to thebrewery shop on Elm Hill andacquire one or two bottles (likeI did recently).

Winter's Mild (3.6%) isanother where I find the flavourof roasted malt really comesthrough in the taste. The GBGdescription of “a good, solidflavour” can't, I think, bebeaten for its accuracy.Certainly another one to savourwhen you can find it.

No article on milds in Norfolkwould be complete, though,without a reference to Wood-forde's Mardler's Mild(3.5%). A deep, dark colour(“looks like a pint of cola”someone commented to me asI was drinking one recently).

A good roast malt taste with, ithas to be said, chocolate over-tones, and a slight sweetness(and, dare I say, a slightly nuttyaftertaste?), all of which staythrough to the finish.

Every now and again, though,you get someone who just hasto be different - and WolfBrewery's “Wolf in Sheep'sClothing” is exactly that. Yes, it's a mild, with all theusual mild characteristics, but itcomes with a strength of hopwhich I find gives a surprisingbitterness that you don'tusually get in a mild. I'd say thisis probably my favourite of theWolf beers, but, unfortunately,like many milds, it tends to bea seasonal offering. I wish Icould find it all year round(hint, hint).

Of course, way back in thepast, mild wasn't the lowgravity beer we know today.Up until WW1 it would've beendifficult to find one with astrength less than 4.5%,whereas today finding one atthat or higher is very rareindeed. But they do exist.Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby(6.0%) is perhaps the bestknown (and can sometimes befound in The Trafford and theDuke of Wellington), but thelocally brewed offerings ofElmtree Nightlight Mild (Beerof the Festival at the 2008Norwich Beer Festival) at 5.7%and Wolf Brewery's WoildMoild (at 4.8%) are goodexamples. I intend to find bothof those as soon as I can!!

So, as the cry of “Make MayMild Month” rises again, whynot do exactly that, and redis-

cover a piece of drinkingheritage that's worth findingand keeping! And here's to agood selection of milds beingavailable all year round!

A selection of milds from ourlocal brewers (apologies forthose I’ve missed):

Blackfriars Mild 3.4% ABVBuffy’s Mild 4.2% ABVChalk Hill Flintknappers 5.0% ABVElmtreeNightlight 5.7% ABV Spectrum Dark Fantastic 3.8% ABVTipples The Hanged Monk 3.8% ABV Winter’s Mild3.6% ABVWolfWolf in Sheeps Clothing 3.7% ABVWoild Moild 4.8% ABVWoodforde’s Mardler's Mild 3.5% ABV

Keith Gerrard

Note from the editor – Keithsuggests that mild might bemore attractive to youngerdrinkers than 'lager-alike' beers.Certainly evidence from thetasting sessions that CAMRA heldwith local brewers at the NorJaminternational scouting event in2006 suggested that this wasthe case, with Headcracker andMardlers being nominated asfavourite beers of the Wood-forde's led session well ahead ofany of the bitters!

May is CAMRA’sNational Mild Month

SPRING 2009 | 23

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SPRING 2009 | 25

it’s “Good Beer Guide”survey time again, howquickly it comes around,time for some good honest

research, I think you knowwhat I’m talking about here.Such fun always! Over a chillywinter week-end myself andNige ventured forth (and camefifth!), he drove Saturday, and I returned the favour Sunday.

Saturday, first stop the GreenMan at Methwold Hythe, apleasant pub just off the backroad between Feltwell andMethwold, we caught the lastday of their January sale, theElgoods Thin Ice was 2 quid apint, the friendly hosts quicklyassisted us to do the survey. Wedecided to check out a coupleof extras, first being theBedingfeld Arms at Oxbor-ough (next to Oxborough Hall,

a National Trust property),superb Adnams Bitter, andNige reported the food wasgood too. Next into DownhamMarket and the Crown Hotel,the bar was busy, and four alesto choose from, I had CottageThe Lion, The Witch and TheWhippet (great name!). back tosurveying, and the Old WhiteBell at Southery, a couple pintsof Tom Woods Mill Tavernrelaxed me to almost comatose,and I thrashed my driver 8-2 atpool! He dropped me homeafter that, half-time for us.

Sunday, my turn behind thewheel, Nige had enjoyed sunnydriving conditions, unfortu-nately I got the blizzards! Heyho, we began at the Swan atHilborough, nice NethergateThree Point Nine, despite beingbusy they were more than

helpful doing the survey. A quick trip to the WindmillInn at Great Cressingham,where the pub’s owner gave ushand with the form , had anice chat, and even bought usa drink (J20 for me), Nige saidthe TT Landlord was superb, Iforget the other one he had,this pub was also busy withSunday lunches. Through thesnowy icy wastes to our finalstop, the White Hart atFoulden, a former branch POTY,we had a late lunch here, andsome fine Buffy’s ales, a reallyfriendly pub.

If you have a suggestion for apub we should look at, don’tbe backwards in comingforwards, we’re always lookingfor new places to go.

Lewis Hamilton’s left foot (aka Tim)

NORFOLK NIPS | West Norfolk GBG survey

A Surveying we will go!

CAMRA research shows that a staggering 65% of adults have nevereven tried real ale - yet of those thatdo try it, 40% of them are converted

to making it a regular tipple.

Mike Benner, CAMRA's Chief Executive,calls Cask Ale Week “a celebration of ournational drink”.

So make National Cask Ale Week yourchance to convert your lager-drinking or wine-drinking friends. Take them to one

of our excellent pubs and introduce themto the delights of real ale!

National Cask Ale Week 5th-13th April

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 25

DUKEof WELLINGTONTRADITIONAL REAL ALE HOUSE

91 - 93 WATERLOO ROAD | NORWICH | 01603 441182

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

6 MORE ALESON HAND PUMP

Just 15 minutes walk

from City Centre

CAMRA Good BeerGuide Listed

CAMRA Norfolk Pub of the Year 2003

OpenMonday to Saturday12noon to 11pm

Sundays12noon to 10.30pm

Come and enjoy our Tap Roomwith a selection of Belgian

bottled beers, Schneider Weiss,Erdinger and Dunkel.

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 26

k

The Fur & Feather, Woodbastwick, Norfolk NR13 6HQ Tel: 01603 720003 www.thefurandfeatherinn.co.uk

The Swan, Swan Corner, Ingham, Norfolk NR12 9AB Tel: 01692 581099 www.theinghamswan.com

Our loyal band of customers already know how good the beer &food is at the Fur and Feather, now you can try it at The InghamSwan too. We have all the Woodforde's beers on offer, either fromcask or bottle, and should you have a drop too much we have five

cosy en suite rooms in which to stay!

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28 | SPRING 2009

TRADITIONAL JAZZ

Acle Recreation Centre,Bridewell Lane, AcleReal Ales include AdnamsBitter, Theakstons and TipplesRedheadTuesday 24th March – RodMason and his Hot Five(including former localfavourite – Sean Moyses - onBanjo)Tickets/enquiries – Brian Davis01493 701880

The Quality Hotel (FilbySuite), Bowthorpe,Norwich (off Dereham Road)Fat Cat Bitter is being laid onspecially for the jazz sessions.

Tuesday 10th March Ken Colyer Legacy NewOrleans Jazz Band

Tuesday 12th MayBrian Carrick’s Algiers Stompers

Tickets/enquiries – Rod Playford01362 688269

King’s Arms, Market Place,ReephamAdnams Bitter, ElgoodsCambridge Bitter, TimothyTaylor Landlord, Woodforde’sWherry and Abbot Ale.

Every Sunday lunchtime from10th May to mid September inthe courtyard at the rear of pub(weather permitting), thebands alternating through thesummer will be Nene ValleyJazzmen, Climax Jazz Band,Vintage Hot Orchestra, Norfolk

Jazz (who include severalformer members of Just JazzGood Time Jazz Band) andSimon Nelson’s Dixie Mix.

In addition, there will belunchtime sessions on BankHoliday Mondays 4th May,25th May and 31st August.(Phone King’s Arms for moredetails - 01603 870345)

King’s Head Hotel, Beccles,SuffolkSelection of Adnams beers plusHumpty Dumpty Bitter

Every Sunday evening - RedBeans ‘n’ Rice New Orleans JazzBand

Feathers Hotel, MarketPlace, HoltGreene King Abbot Ale and IPA

First Friday every month –Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band

Marsham Arms, nrHevingham (B1149Norwich-Holt Road)Adnams Bitter, plus alternatingguests including AdnamsBroadside and Woodforde’sWherry

Third Friday every month –Lumiere Rouge Ragtime Band

Tally Ho, Mettingham (nrBungay), Suffolk

Following the sudden closureof this pub a few weeks ago,the Sole Bay Jazz Band havehad to find a new home afterplaying at this venue for wellover 20 years. Fortunately theyhave found a new venue just a

few miles up the road from theTally Ho at Flixton Buck.

The Buck Inn, The Street,Flixton, SuffolkWoofordes Mardler’s, MorlandOriginal and Adnams Bitter arethe regulars at present, but inaddition there are guest beers,and an increased selection inthe summer months

Every Thursday -Sole Bay Jazz Band

Ingleside Hotel, MundesleyFollowing the folding of JustJazz Good Time Jazz Band,regular jazz sessions haveceased at this long running jazzvenue, but it is hoped thatthings will get under way insome way or other in the nearfuture (Watch press for details).

Waterside Bar, BeachTerrace Road, Hunstanton

Adnams Bitter and GreeneKing Old Speckled Hen

Sunday 22nd March (5.00 –8.00 pm) – Chris Wigley’sDixieland Jazz Quartet (led byformer Just Jazz trombonistChris Wigley)

Sunday 21st June (9.00 –11.00 pm) Chris Wigley’sDixieland Jazz Quartet.

It is good to be able to reporton a new venue in West Norfolk,following the widening of thedistribution area of NorfolkNips. (If anyone knows of any

Beer & Music | NORFOLK NIPS

Music & Real Ale

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 28

more jazz venues in WestNorfolk, please let me know).

Queen’s Hall, WattonNo news of the beer at thisvenue, but this date featuresanother comparatively newband in the area:-

Friday 13th March – SimonNelson’s Dixie Mix

Toftwood Social Club (NrEast Dereham)Saturday 21st March – DixieJazz Bandits with Mary LouLambert

Dereham Jazz Society,Lakeside Country Club,Quarry Lane, Lyng (nrDereham)Adnams beers plus guest beerson handpumpWednesday 1st April – SimonNelson’s Dixie Mix

Limes Hotel, High Street,Needham Market, SuffolkReal Ales availableFirst Sunday evening everymonth. Also, third Sundaylunchtime monthly in Bugs Bar– Bands vary

MAINSTREAM/MODERN JAZZ

Green Man, WroxhamRoad, RackheathWoodforde’s Wherry, AdnamsBitter and Broadside plus guests

Every Tuesday – Fullprogramme consisting ofvarious bands and musicians.

For further details, phoneBarbara Capocci on 01603413443, or [email protected]

Dereham Jazz Society, Lake-side Country Club, QuarryLane, Lyng (nr Dereham)

Adnams beers plus guestbeers on handpump

Every Wednesday – Fullprogramme consisting ofvarious bands and musicians,which usually includes one‘traditional’ session each month(see above).

For further details phone01328 863511 or 01362696741 or visit websitewww.lakeside-jazz-club.co.uk

Holiday Inn, Cromer Road,Norwich (near Airport)

Real Ales availableSat 2nd May to Monday 4th

May – Norwich Jazz Party.Following on from highly

successful events in the last twoyears, this year will againfeature a huge internationalline-up of top class bands andmusicians.

Tickets/information from JerryBrown (Jazz ‘n’ Blues Records) –01603 467777

Keith Chettleburgh

FOLK IN THE EAST

‘A’ is for Alby and a new, tothese pages, music venue atthe Horse Shoes on theCromer Road, a local singers &musicians session on the lastThursday of the month from20.30. Tel: 01263 761378 Icould mention that they have agood selection of well kept alesbut that would be advertising.Also, staying in North Norfolk,the Sheringham Folk club meetat the Burlington Hotel bar

on the second Wednesday ofthe month, also from 20.30, allwelcome especially musicians.

Geldeston Locks in thewilds of the Waveney valleycontinue their regular musicslots, wind, wave and high tidepermitting! Murphy’s Loreappear on the 22nd of March(Sunday) and host an openmike session on the Thursday26th while in April between the9th & Sunday 12th an EasterBeer & Music Festival drawsthem back again for a folkyFriday. Buskers and sundryacoustic acts are interspersedwith Ska, Country & Blues overthe next two days with (onSunday) The Henry Bros(Gospel, Blues and murderballads) before the RumBrothers contribute their ownIrish country &folk.www.geldestonlocks.co.ukfor more details.

Over in the west of thecounty the former Castle AcreFolk Club has made a changeof venue from the Ostrich Innto the Red Lion on the MarketPlace in Swaffham, thesessions start at 20.00 on thelast Wednesday of the month.

Norwich Folk club meet atthe White Horse Inn atTrowse from 20.30 to 23.30every Friday mostly sing-arounds and local musiciansessions they have guests on13th March, 17th April, and15th May updates onwww.norwichfolkclub.netAnother city venue that hadslipped under my radar in thepast is the York Tavern on

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music

SPRING 2009 | 29Continued Overleaf

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30 | SPRING 2009

NORWICH

Real Ales

Two Floors Available for PrivateDaytime Bookings 7 Days A Week

Parking, Smoking Area

Enquiries for daytime and evening bookingsplease ring Karen on 07974 512 434 or www.myspace.com/thequeencharlotte

Live Music

7 Nights A Week

Cindy and Steve would like to welcome youto The Gin Trap Inn, a traditional 17th century coaching inn with luxury B&Brooms on the Peddars Way and near the

lovely North Norfolk coast.

Adnams Bitter and Woodforde’s Wherry arealways available along with rotating guest

beers and award winning food.

6 High Street, Ringstead, Norfolk PE36 5JU

Tel: 01485 525264

Woods End Bramerton

Situated on the River Yare three miles from Norwich.

5 real Ales, Good Pub Food.

Children and Pet Friendly

Martin and the Crew look forward to welcoming you.

Tel: 01508 538899

BARRELIEFMANAGEMENT

Your local Bar Relief to cover for

your Holidays or Sickness.

Personal Licence Holder.

Food Hygiene Certificated.

Please Call Brian Mayhew on

01603 301356 or 07714657752

to discuss your requirements

email: [email protected]

www.brmpubservices.co.uk

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Leicester Street who host aweekly Friday night sessionfrom 20.30 for acoustic musicand sing-arounds. The usualIrish sessions continue onWednesdays at The Shed onSprowston Road while, for theNelson on Nelson Street,Thursday & Sunday are thenights to look out for. And, ofthe regular city sessions theDuke of Wellington onWaterloo Road continues tohost the von Krapp Family onTuesday evenings.

Although not strictly folk amainly acoustic session hasnow started at the Wild Manon Bedford Street Norwich, noother details at the moment.

In addition to the headlineson the death of the Englishpub much was made in thenational press, at the start ofthe year, of the forthcomingdemise of that, much derided,English tradition of morrisdancing. Now, I’m no dancer,and come complete with a fullyworking set of left feet but theCity has two fully functioning(morris) sides in the form ofKemps Men & Golden StarMorris. It is easy to mock butbefore you write off morris ashanky waving for the mentallymiddle aged check out a side,on good form, for an energeticand entertaining experience.Star haven’t publicised theirdance-out dates at the time ofwriting but catch Kemps at theChedgrave White Horselunchtime on 25th April,Poringland Royal Oak onWednesday 27th May at 19.45,Hethersett Queen’s Head

on June 3rd (19.45) andWymondham Feathers onthe 10th also at 19.45.www.goldenstarmorris.org.uk& www.kempsmen.org.uk formore details.

The Sunday night, Meet inthe Hedge sessions (TheFeathers Inn Town GreenWymondham) for all sorts ofacoustic music (and poetry)will be on the 29th of March,26th April, 31st May and 28thJune check for details onwww.meetinthehedge.co.uk

And finally, the usual appealfor information, especially inWest Norfolk if you are runningfolk or acoustic sessions in yourlocal pass the details on via theeditor’s e-mail address unlessyou really want to keep it quiet!

ROCK IN THEQUEEN CHARLOTTE

Gig listings for March, April,May for the Queen CharlotteNorwich

March20 Guns 2 Roses - guns androses tribute band21 Vegas Fame index23 Fullwater + Collider24 Hair Traffic Control26 Metal night27 Dance 4 tibet + Slackbantaand Friends28 Milo b+mr moon+bi-spatial+vista - a night of electro 29 The Relays + the pressure +mum locked in a castle30 Shitmat31 This Wonderful Creationpresents the queen charlotte

under 18 live music night

April03 Trepidation base04 Power up promotionspresent day one of the 1up fest 05 Power up promotionspresent day two of the 1up fest06 Cocos Lovers07 Good friday at the queencharlotte with indelible sound08 Amen-tal sound system13 Easter Monday at the queencharlotte with denounce + herokills heroine - a thrashing bankholiday of metal16 Power Up Promotions Presents Catch 22 - 17 Killer Hurts + Snowblind 18 Arcadia Lake + Friends InAid Of The Rspb21 The Queen CharlotteQuirky Quiz -Free Entry,Selected Real Ales £1.99 A PintAll Night, £40.00 In PrizeMoney Up For Grabs PlusDrinks Round22 Alaska Pipeline + Hair TrafficControl + Tbc23 Celebrating St Georges DayWith The Best Of PunkFeaturing The Culprits, TheTransmission, Kill Youth CultureAnd Very Special Guests Tbc26 Russell Can’t Drive + Down-town Crashers28 Under 18 Live Music Night

May01 Disco Biscuit Presents AtThe Queen Charlotte02 Amen-Tal08 Slackbanta Sound System15 Concrete Roots SoundSystem16 Steel Noise PromotionsPresents All Day Metal Fest -Myspace.Com/Steelnoisepro-motions.

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer & Music

SPRING 2009 | 31

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32 | SPRING 2009

Our branch’s annual Xmaspub crawl in Norwichstarted out of the citycenter, at the DUKE OF

CONNAUGHT, our host kindlyopened up early at 11 for us, agood group of 13 gathered tostart the day with a bang(myself and Nige were quicklyinto a game of pool!), my firstpint was a lovely drop ofWinters Bitter. Around thecorner and up the street(slightly to the left of the RishiMaze!), was the NELSON, afew more joined us here, I hadone of my fave ales, DeucharsIPA, knocks that Greene Kingstuff into a cocked hat. Alongto pub 3, the excellent FATCAT, busy as always, morepeople here bringing ournumbers up to 25, I tried acouple of Scottish ales inHarviestoun Bitter & Twistedand Orkney Red McGregor.Onto a great backstreet boozer,

the ALEXANDRA, where thelandlord was so impressed bythe numbers he gave me a verynice Alex t-shirt, cheers! A UKversus USA pool match tookplace, and we whipped themgood, reckon the Americansare used to bigger balls!!!Ahem! Drinks-wise, it was CHBfor me. Down the road andacross the busy junction,around the bend (aren’t weall?!), to MICAWBERS. We raninto some ‘Molly Dancers’,cousins of Morris Dancers Isuppose, but basically blokes indresses and garish make-up,pity I’d left my dress and high-heels at home! Umm, movingswiftly along! Oh, Nelson’sRevenge was my poison here.

Next up was the RUMSEYWELLS (formerly the StAndrews Tavern), I sank amanly ale of Adnams Old, I wasamused by the selection ofsweet jars behind the bar,which included Bon Bons andFlying Saucers. It’s a dogs’ life,so onto the DOG HOUSE (ex-Red Lion), gravity ales ontap, the Spitfire I has wassuperb, eyes turns to the SkySports TV screen to check thefootie scores, and a vital 1-0home win for Norwich Cityover Charlton. Followed thatwith a visit to the OLD WHITELION, which had re-opened inAutumn last year, good to seethe pub back in business, nowowned by the Milton Brewery,my ale was Dionysus.

Onwards ever onwards, and

the KINGS HEAD, like to havea game of bar billiards when-ever I pop in here, and enjoyeda nice drop of Buffy’s Hop leaf.

Now then, at this pointmyself and Stig decided a currywould be good, so poppedacross the road, my chickenMadras was delicious. But Stigquickly regretted his decisionto have curried crab, as itturned out to be very fiddly(Fiddler Crab?!), and we ranout of time to try the remainingpubs on the list as we had tocatch our train. But Nigeinformed me the rest of thegroup carried on and went inthe GLASSHOUSE and TAKE 5,and both were good. In factNige dragged a few diehardsalong to TWO more pubs, thisman doesn’t know when toquit! They went in the RosaryTavern and the Coach &Horses ( they must havebottomless stomachs!). So endsanother Xmas crawl, can’t wait‘til this year when we get to doit all again, cheers me dears!!!!!

Tim “Alice” Spitzer.

I was back in Norwich in themiddle of January, taking a group ofmainly Americans on a crawl, it wassomeone’s “going away’. I followedsome of the Xmas crawl route suchas the ALEXANDRA, FAT CAT,RUMSEY WELLS, DOG HOUSE , andKINGS HEAD. Also took them in theREINDEER, RIBS OF BEEF,GLASSHOUSE, EDITH CAVELL, andfinally, COMPLEAT ANGLER (niceNorfolk Nog!).

West Norfolk Branch | NORFOLK NIPS

Christmas Pub Crawl

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SPRING 2009 | 33

June Beer FestivalFriday June 12th - Sunday June 14th

See website for details6 Real Ales always available

Large Beer Garden and Car ParkMusic: Folk every Sunday and Thursday

Regular Live BandsSunday night Pub QuizSky Sports and Setanta

Watch City in the Championship- Find us in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2009 -

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 33

34 | SPRING 2009

SEASONAL ALESThin Ice 4.7% Jan/Feb Old Wagg 4.0% March/April

Double Swan 4.5% May/June Mad Dog 4.4% July/AugBarleymead 4.8% Sept/Oct Old Black Shuck 4.5% NovSnickalmas 5.0% Wenceslas Winter Warmer 7.5% Dec

North Brink Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire Tel: 01945 583160

Available all year round:

Cambridge Bitter 3.8%Gold Award

Champion Bitter of Britain 2006

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 34

SPRING 2009 | 35

24th to 26th April 2009

A celebration of Norfolk’s Ales. Five of the finest Norfolk breweries to celebrate the best of Norfolk.

Norfolk Ales • Norfolk Food • Norfolk Singers

DON’T

MISS IT!

“THE COUNTRY PUB”

Comfortable atmosphere

Real ales and open fire

Home cooked food

Superb bar snacks served every day, 12noon until 9pm

Parties and function catered for

Sheltered courtyard and garden

En-suite accommodation

• SALTHOUSE •

Coast Rd, Salthouse, Norfolk NR25 7XA Tel: 01263 740467

Crown InnSheringham

East Cliff, Sheringham NR26 8BQ Tel: 01263 823213

Four Real AlesLondon Pride, GK Abbot, GK IPA and Woodfordes Werry

Large Beer Garden overlooking the sea

Live bands all year on Wednesday

Home Cooked Food available 12noon - 9pm, 7 days a week

15 Chef Specials on the board

£1.00 Meal Deal Purchase any two meals at the same

time from either menu and the cheaperwill cost only £1!

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North West Norfolk Pub Scene

36 | SPRING 2009

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NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk Coastal Feature

SPRING 2009 | 37

i n surveying for the 2010CAMRA National Good BeerGuide and judging for our

Branch Pub of the Year I havemade a few trips to the northwest part of Norfolk to samplesome of the pubs in this all tooinfrequently visited part of ourBranch area. Here are mycomments on a few of them,not in any particular order.

A small group of us visited thecharming north Norfolk coastalvillage of Blakeney. There arefour real ale outlets to choosefrom, two hotels that have nonresidents bars, The BlakeneyHotel and The Manor Hotel,and two pubs, The White Horseselling mainly Adnams and TheKings Arms. We visited TheKings Arms as although theothers all offer good real ale,the Kings Arms offers thewidest choice. Here in this oldwhite flint washed walledbuilding with the date 1760inscribed on the roof tiles werea range of beers form Adnams,Marston’s Theakstons, Wood-forde’s and Greene King whichare dispensed both by hand-pump and by gravity.

A short journey east along theA149 coast road is the smallvillage of Salthouse, a populardestination for birdwatchersand ornithologists. It also hasone pub, The Dun Cow, situ-ated on a small hill with great

views overlooking SalthouseMarshes. Another fine range ofbeers are available that include,Adnams Bitter, Tim TaylorLandlord, Greene King Abbotand Woodforde’s Wherry.

We also visited Stiffkey, asmall village between Blakeneyand Wells. This village onceboasted three pubs but nowonly The Red Lion survives. Thisis a fairly food orientated pubwith an extensive menu sellingreal ales from Adnams andWoodforde’s

Moving slightly inland fromthe coast road there are someother little gems worth visiting.One of better known villages isBinham famous for its medievalPriory. The village pub TheChequers has also gained somenotoriety over recent years as itis home of one of NorthNorfolk’s small micro breweriesFront Street. The pub sellsbeers from its own brewerysuch as Callums Ale, BinhamCheer, Unity Strong plus someguests. There is also a widerange of premium Belgian andGerman beers available. Thepub also offers good qualityhome cooked food.

A little further along the roadis The Three Horseshoes inWarham. Visiting this pub thatis listed in CAMRA’s National

Continued Overleaf

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 37

EASTER BEER FESTIVAL - Sunday 5th AprilThe Triangle’s 2009 Easter I.P.A. Festival begins on Sunday 5th April and will run over the Easterweekend while stocks last. Guest Ales from across the U.K.I.P.A.s Stout, Mild and Best Bitters.Plus your favourite Green Jack Ales including RIPPER (Supreme Champion Winter Ale 2007)

Live music on Thursday 9th, Friday 10th, and DJs on Saturday 11th

We look forward to welcoming you to the spiritual home of themulti-award winning Green Jack Brewing Co

Locks Lane, GeldestonNR34 0HW Tel: 01508 518414

www.geldestonlocks.co.uk(also have myspace and facebook)

Geldeston Locks Inn

Summer Hours Noon to close every day

Food 12-2.30pm & 6-8.30pm every day(except sunday evenings)

Friday Nights: Famous curries of the world

voted best music venue on the Broads!

EASTER BEER, CIDER & MUSIC FESTIVAL Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th April 30+ ales and ciders, live folk, ska, country,

blues, bluegrass and more.

THE TRIANGLE TAVERN29 ST PETERS ST. LOWESTOFT NR32 1QA

www.thetriangletavern.co.uk   

Green Jack - Ales & StoutBrewed in Lowestoft

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:37 Page 38

Inventory is like stepping into atime warp back to the late 19thor early 20th centuries as allthe rooms are fitted andfurnished in period style. Thereare usually two to beers avail-able. Greene King IPA andWoodforde’s Wherry plusmaybe a guest in summer.

Also in the area is The Bluebellat Langham. It is located a littleoff the usual tourist route andprobably less well known thanthe other pubs listed here but itis nevertheless still worth a visit.This is a very unpretentiousvillage local that offers visitors awarm friendly welcome. Thereis a range of two beers avail-able Greene King IPA plus arotating guest. Home cookedmeals are served both lunchand evenings.

Our trips to the North Norfolkcoast also took in Wells. Westopped near The Buttlands, agreen in the centre of townsurrounded by trees and fineGeorgian buildings. Here thereare two pubs to choose from,The Globe and The CrownHotel. The Globe was, untilrecently a Greene King pub butit has now been taken over andinternally refurbished by theowners of The Holkham Estate.On the night we visited it therewere four real ales available,Adnams Bitter and Broadside,Woodforde’s Wherry andNelson’s Revenge. The Crownsituated at the far end of thegreen offered a choice ofAdnams Bitter and Old plusWoodforde’s Wherry.

We later headed down to the

quayside to visit one ofNorfolk’s most unusual hostel-ries The Albatros. As mentionedin last NIPS, The Albatros is aNorth Sea clipper sailing shipbuilt in 1899 and is the lastcommercial sailing boat of thistype in the UK. It has beenbased in Wells harbour since2001. The cargo hold has beenconverted into a bar/diningarea with many navigation

charts and other nauticalmemorabilia adorning thewalls. Between two or threebeers from Woodforde’s areavailable served straight fromthe cask. Fine food is available;pancakes with both sweet andsavoury fillings their speciality.An absolute must to visit onyou next trip to Wells!

Warren Wordsworth

NORFOLK NIPS | Norfolk Coastal Feature - continued

SPRING 2009 | 39

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40 | SPRING 2009

Town Green, WymondhamTelephone: (01953) 605675

Freehouse listed in The Good Beer Guide

Pub food 7 days a week served lunchtimesand evenings.

Function Room for parties or meetings.

Large Car Park

A warm welcome awaits you!

FOUR REAL ALESLive Music, Friday & SaturdayLarge garden overlooking the

River Wensum

OPENMon - Thurs 12-11

Fri & Sat 12-12 • Sunday 12-11

The Gatehouse Pub 391 Dereham Road, Norwich NR5 8QJ

01603 620340

Heath HouseNorwich

Traditional Family Pub

Beer Festival Monday22nd to Sunday 28th June

Ales from near and farCrone’s Organic Cider (7.4% ABV)

Live music from ‘Beyond Duplication’ on Friday‘Just Kevin’ on Saturday

The Heath House, 99 Gertrude Rd, Norwich, Norfolk NR3 4SG Tel: 01603 406417

Just 10 mins fromthe Cider ShedPub Food Served Wednesday to Saturday

6pm to 9pm (12noon to 5pm on Sun)

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 40

SPRING 2009 | 41

The Kings Arms 22 Hall Rd Norwich NR1 3HQ

Tel: 01603 766361

Always serving a mild plus a stout, porter or old and real cider.

A range of Belgian Ales and Fruit beers now available!

Quiz Night! - The last Wednesday in every month!

Come and try our lunchtime bar menu or have anight out with friends and order in yourfavourite take-away! Now serving Roasts every Sunday ! CA

MRA

GOO

D BE

ER

GUID

E 20

09

We ar

e in it

!

13 Real Ales always served from Batemans, Adnams and Wolf

breweries plus many other local andnational beers.

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42 | SPRING 2009

The Mermaid InnChurch Street, Elsing Dereham,NR20 3EA

Tel: 01362637640 Email: [email protected]

Great Pub Food MenuTry our famous Steak and Kidney Roly Poly

with thick beer gravy. We cook our own Ham inreal ale, we can't cook it quick enough!

INFLATION BUSTER MON - FRI ONLY £4.95!

Look us up in the CAMRA GoodBeer Guide 2009 or the CAMRA

Good Pub Food Guide.

We have internet café facilities!

Freehouse, Real Ales, Real Food,

Real Welcome!

Freehouse, Real Ales, Real Food,

Real Welcome!

Just off the A47 east of Kings LynnEver-changing range of real ales (minimum 3)CAMRA West Norfolk Pub of the Year 2005Popular with CAMRA members and walkers

• Beer Garden • Monthly Quizzes

Low Rd, West Acre, Kings Lynn PE32 1TR

Tel: 01760 755395

OPENING HOURSMonday closed,

Tues - Thurs 12noon-3pm, 6.30pm - 11pm

Friday Open all day Saturday & Sunday

12noon - 3pm and 6.30pm - 9.00pm

FOOD SERVED 12 - 2pm and 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Beer Festival Friday to Sunday

May 8th - 10th

20+ Beers in

the marquee

The King’s Head at Brooke6 Norwich Road, Brooke 01508 550335

Real AlesExtensive Wine ListHome Cooked Food

Bar Snacks and A la Carte MenuBBQ in the summer

Cream Teas • Afternoon TeaLog Fires in the winter

A traditional pub/restaurant serving home madetraditional British food with a modern slant. All food is prepared in our own kitchens.

We only use local fresh produce where possible.

Free Range local Pork • Local GameLocal Free Range Lamb • Wild Venison

Aged Local Beef • Free Range Chickens and EggsHomemade Bread • Homemade Desserts

No MSG • No Colourings • No Preservatives

No GM Modified Foods

The White Hart Inn7 White Hart Street, Foulden, Thetford,Norfolk IP26 5AW Tel: 01366 328638

19th Century traditionalpub with accomodationin the heart of Foulden,just outside Thetford.

With Thetford Forest right on the doorstep,this is a great base for discovering the wildlife

and outdoor pleasures of The Brecks.

Real ale pub serving value formoney pub meals with music andquiz nights. for full details of whats on

email:- [email protected]

Child Friendly and dogs welcome.En suite rooms with private entrance available.

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 42

NORFOLK NIPS | Beekeeping

Cider, Orchards, Bees and Mead

SPRING 2009 | 43

i t’s all about magic. Avalon, the mystical islandof Arthurian legend is an isle of apple trees.Old orchards are enchanted places with the

old types of apples that Worcester Pearmainwhich supermarkets reject for being the wrongshape (as the name suggests, pear shaped).Without bees there would be none of this, noapples, no cider, no modern Avalon and nohoney so no mead.

Norfolk Beekeepers Association are holding abeginners day where you can have a peep intothe magical world of a bee hive Sunday 26thApril from 9.30 till lunch time at Easton College,just past the showground off the old A47. Theworkshop is free of charge but please do ringGraham Ford on 01508 493 430 so he knowshow many veils to bring.

If you can’t make the day why not have a chatwith the NBKA at the Norfolk Show?

Great selection of real ales and wines, alongwith fine dining and excellent company. New guest ale every Friday.

www.whitehorsechedgrave.co.uk

April 1st 6pm - Everyone welcomeFree "Thank You" Barbecue to all customers (past, present and future!)

Spring St George’s Beer FestivalWednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th Aprilover 20 real ales and ciders on offer plus live music/morris dancing

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 43

44 | SPRING 2009

i t was a miserable Septemberday. Rain sheeted in from thesea, and water sprayed up

from the road as I pushed mymotorbike against the wind.North Norfolk was not showingits prettier side today. Grey sky,grey mist, everything was grey.

In the orchard at Stanhoe,though, the apples blazed withcolour – red, pink, brightgreen. Under some of the treesthey lay thick like a windfallcarpet.

I'd come to visit Whin HillCider, one of East Anglia’s largestcider makers, at the beginning oftheir harvest season.

The orchard is impressive – 13acres of apple trees, marchingin their rows across the slope ofthe hill. All are pruned north-south ‘up and down’ the rows,so that the branches run alongthe alleys, making it easier toharvest the apples. There are afew rows of taller trees, too –perry pears; in fact perry hasbeen doing so well that another80 trees have been planted,more than doubling thenumber, but it will take 6-7 yearstill these are producing fruit.

Whin Hill isn’t just a cidermaker. Out of the 2,000 trees,about 1,400 are cider appletrees, the remainder beingmainly dessert apples forjuicing. There are eight dessertvarieties, including Discovery,Greensleeves, James Grieve,Cox, Bramley and Russet.

Then there are another 8 vari-eties of cider apple. Althoughthe tradition in East Anglia wasalways to make cider fromeating varieties, Whin Hillprefers to use cider apple varieties such as Dabinett,Michelin, Ashton bitter, WhiteJersey, Major, Ellis bitter,Browns, and Kingston Black.

The harvest and pressing ofthe apples begins in Augustand runs right the way throughto mid November – alas,clashing with Norwich BeerFestival so we rarely see thecidermakers trying their ownproducts in St Andrews Hall.The apples are broken andpressed in a barn on the

Whin Cider Visit | NORFOLK NIPS

Whin Hill Cider

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 44

orchard site, but the juice isthen taken to Wells for furtherprocessing. The waste pomaceis recycled in the orchard,spread out around the bottomof the trees as fertiliser.

2008 wasn't a vintage year;the weather was miserable, andcider apples need sun. withoutit, the juice is relatively weak,and so the cider will come outlower in alcohol than in asunnier year – perhaps at 6%instead of 7%. (In a reallygood year, like 2006, all theciders will come out at 8%, butthe last two years have beendisappointing weather-wise.)

However, cidermakers have adilemma when it comes toalcoholic strength, because ofthe way duty is calculated.Over 7.2%, a higher rate ofduty becomes payable.Blending gets round thisproblem – a smart cidermakercan blend cider from differentvarieties of apple to get theoverall strength below thislevel. Of course if all the vari-eties are above 7.2% they havea poser – whether to water itdown, or whether to sell moreand take the duty hit.

I was interested to find outthat my favourite variety, Dabi-nett, is the apple that alwaysproduces the highest strengthcider!

To see the rest of the process,we decamped to the shop inWells-next-the-Sea. The shopforms one side of a charminglittle courtyard, with thefermentation tanks andbottling plant filling the

remaining buildings. It didn'tlook particularly inviting on thisgrey and rainy day, but with avine pergola and little fountainit must be a delightful place tocome and taste the cider insummer.

The ten huge fermentationtanks (2500 litres each) standin the darkness of an ancientbarn. They come from a manu-facturer that is more used tosupplying winemakers – indeedcidermaking is far more similarto winemaking than it is tobrewing. (Whin Hill uses a wineyeast, too – having started withnatural fermentation, theyfound it was too unreliable andmoved to using a generalpurpose wine yeast in order toget a more consistent product.)Here the cider graduallyferments over the wholewinter; the juice I saw goinginto the tanks in Septemberwon't be bottled till March.Seven months of silent chem-istry...

Almost all of Whin Hill's cideris bottled, and the vast majorityof it is sold through the shop.It's only served from the barrelat beer festivals, and at theThree Horseshoes in Warham.That's a business decision –supplying the trade is a lowmargin business for a cider-maker, says Jim Ferguson.

Because most of the bottledciders are pasteurised, andsome are carbonated, theydon't strictly meet the 'realcider' CAMRA guidelines. (Thebarrels provided to beer festi-vals are not pasteurised, so thisis real cider.) However there is

an extra dry cider availablewhich is naturally bottle condi-tioned – and extremely tasty. Interms of the ingredients, WhinHill is purist – no juice or applesare bought in for the cider; itall comes from the oneorchard, so it's a true localproduct.

The shop closes down for thewinter – but reopens at Easter.It sells the apple juice andcider, and I was told that thereis perry too (but you have toask for it - everyone seems towant it and it sells out tooquickly if it's openly adver-tised). There are dessert apples,too, from August onwards –Whin Hill makes no moneyfrom selling these, but you'reinvited to make a donation tothe Royal National LifeboatInstitution if you want to takesome away.

Whin Hill Ciderwhinhillcider.co.ukThe Stables, Stearman's Yard,Wells next the Sea, Norfolk,NR23 1BWTel: (01328) 711033

Andrea Kirkby

NORFOLK NIPS | Whin Cider Visit

SPRING 2009 | 45

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 45

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

12.00noon - 10.30pm Sunday

Run by enthusiastic drinkers and CAMRA members.

Keg Free Zone 14 Hand PumpsNorfolk Ales and CiderMild always availableWorldwide Bottled BeersBelgian BeersBar BilliardsTelevision-free

KEG FREE HOUSE

The Kings Head, 42 Magdalen Street, Norwich NR3 1JETelephone: 01603 620468 www.kingsheadnorwich.com

Dating from the 14th century, the pub has

been restored to a Victorian style.

CAMRA Norfolk

Pub of the Year

2006 & 2008

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 46

i ’d heard that the new seasonsummer ales were on tap at theWig and Pen, so I was keen to try

them. However, this was Decemberand this only makes sense if youhave travelled to the other side ofthe world, to Canberra to beprecise.

We had been travelling all overOz, from brew pub to brew pub,and, in general, we were pleasedwhat we found, even though allthe beers were served ice cold.

But Canberra is a ‘new’ city, aplanned city, a soulless city, so Ihad low expectations of this pubwhich I had Googled! But the Wigand Pen was the real thing. Somefive ales on hand pump, at cellartemperature, and brewed on thepremises.

We met a Local. He became mybest friend. Everyone becomes mybest friend after a few beers. I tellhim we have a Wig and Pen wherewe live. He tells me he has been there. Itturns out his Wig and Pen is inLondon, mine is in Norwich.

I only had a $50 note, which I lefton the bar for all the drinks that wewould surely be consuming duringthe evening. Then disaster. The bargirl said the pub closed at 8pm.This is Australia, this must be amistake! But, apparently there is solittle demand in the Capital on

Sundays that the pub closes at8.00pm! My New Best Friend cameto the rescue. He is the designer ofthe pump badges, beer mats etc.He has influence. ‘Try a sample’, hesays. ‘The bar is closed’, I say. ‘Try asample’, he repeats. The barmaid(is that PC?) is happy to give me asample, but not sell me beer.

We have several samples. At 9.00pm, we are finally thrownout! But what a night to remember:excellent beer and good company.

The Wig and Pen (Canberra) has aweb site www.wigandpen.com.au.

Here is a selection of some of thepump badges my NBF haddesigned. His name is Peter Rogers.

David Bunting

NORFOLK NIPS | Travelling in Oz

A Beer (or two) at the Wig and Pen

SPRING 2009 | 47

m

COACH & HORSESDERSINGHAM

77 Manor Road, Dersingham

01485 [email protected]

Serving homecooked food in a warmfriendly atmosphere

Come and Play Petanque!

(free instruction) Call for details

Meals Wed-Sat 12-2.30pm & 6-8.30pmSunday 12-3pm & 6-8.30pm

En Suite Rooms From £39LIVE MUSIC NOW EVERY FRIDAY!

Award Winning Beers From Grain Brewery

Here’s how to order…email [email protected]

phone 01986 788884 order online www.grainbrewery.co.uk

www.grainbrewery.co.uk

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 47

48 | SPRING 2009

New Real Ale shopopened in Blofield.

Visit the shop at Blofield Leisure Centre, 58 Yarmouth Road,

Blofield, Norfolk, NR13 4LQ

Or

Visit our brewery shop at 7 Estcourt Road, Great Yarmouth,

Norfolk, NR30 4JQ

Tel: 01493 854484 email: [email protected]

www.norfolksquarebrewery.co.uk

Real ales, sweet spirits and delicious winesGaming lounge and garden • Function Room

Live music on ThursdaysThe Shindig on Saturdays

The Sunday social....well on Sundays

(Formerley the St Andrews Tavern)4 St Andrews Street, Norwich NR2 4AF

01603 614858Open Midday Till Midnight

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 48

SPRING 2009 | 49

COAST ROAD, WALCOTT,NORFOLK NR12 OPE

Telephone(01692) 650371

Proprietor since 1989: STEVE BULLIMOREFREE HOUSE

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

Food available all day until 10.3010% off food and drink on production of CAMRA membership card

www.lighthouseinn.co.uk

FOUR REAL ALES & CIDER

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 49

50 | SPRING 2009

New Opening HoursMon 5-11, Tuesday 12-11,

Wednesday 12-11, Thursday 12-11, Friday 12-12, Saturday 12-12, Sunday 12-11

New Lunchtime Menu Available

6 Real Ales On Handpump

Pool Room, Darts And Quiz Machine

Function Room Available For Hire

Beer Garden And New Sheltered Smoking Area

Free Wi Fi

Freehouse

The Beehive, Leopold Road, Norwich NR4 7PJ Tel: 01603 451628 Email: [email protected]

Beer Festival Fri-Sun July 3rd-5th. Up to 20 Beers

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

ON THE B1105 FAKENHAM- WELLS RD

Over 50bottle conditioned realales from 15 Norfolkbrewers who all use

Branthill Farms famous malted barley.

TEL: 01328 710810www.therealaleshop.co.uk

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R eal Ale walks in Norfolk willbe published on April 8th.The book which is in full

colour consists of 128 pages inA5 format. It contains 18 pubwalks, of which 7 are inNorwich and 11 in variousCounty towns around Norfolk.Each pub walk features a colourmap of the route, a colour

photograph and description ofeach pub. The book alsocontains a comprehensivebrewery section covering brew-eries in Norfolk and aroundEast Anglia.

Price only £5.99. See branchwebsite from 8th April for mailorder details.

NORFOLK NIPS | Chairman’s Letter

Easy peasylemon squeezy1. Worth two in the bush

2. Will he ever change hisspots?

3. He had ten thousand men

4. Commoners can't eat thisbird as it's owned by thecrown but there's one withtwo necks in Gt Yarmouth

5. The first Monday aftertwelfth night is _________Monday

6. Patron saint of Scotland

7. Hey diddle diddle,________________, the cowjumped over the moon

8. Son of Mary, Queen ofScots

9. Famous actress, morefamous for being mistress tothe then Prince of Wales, shemade one silent film

10. English folk hero, usuallyfound in Sherwood Forest

Fiona

Real Ale Walks in Norfolk

SPRING 2009 | 51

1. Bird in Hand (Wreningham)

2. Leopard (Norwich)

3. Duke of York

4. White swan

5. Plough

6. St Andrew

7. Cat and Fiddle

8. James I

9. Lilly Langtry

10. Robin Hood

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 51

The Street, Weybourne near Holt, Norfolk NR25 7SZ Situated on the A149 coast road, in the centre of Weybourne

Tel: 01263 588721Email: [email protected]: www.shipinnweybourne.co.uk

Traditional and local provenance atThe Ship Inn, Weybourne

Sea bass purchased on the beach, lobster and crabs caught by the IsabellaKathleen boat crew working out of the harbour at Wells-next-the-Sea are justtwo of many reasons why visitors should go and join the locals at the The

Ship Inn at Weybourne on North Norfolk’s beautiful coast.

Local provenance and food and beer miles are extremely important to LandlordTerry Rayner and his team. The recently refurbished restaurant features a menuthat changes with the seasonal availability of local produce; when in season gameis shot in the nearby woods and this character inn prides itself that its meat is nowbutchered on site.

In the warm and welcoming bar, which features a roaring fire on a cold winter’sday, three Norfolk beers are on always available and on Monday and Thursdayevenings traditional pub games, including poker, dice and shove-halfpenny, attract a keen following.

Why not sample the charm of the Ship Inn yourself? You will be made exceptionally welcome.

IDEAL FOR NORTH NORFOLKSTEAM RAILWAY

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t he Norwich and NorfolkCampaign For Real Ale isproud to announce that

their branch pub of the year isthe Artichoke at Broome.

The Artichoke is situated inthe Waveney valley, a stone’sthrow from the Suffolk border,in the small village of Broome.It was the original home of thelong gone Crowfoot brewery,the Arichoke is now run byJohn and Nikki Craft who areno strangers in the licensedtrade, having run the StAndrews Tavern and King’sArms in Norwich.

John and Nikki were flabber-gasted on hearing that theyhad won, “In these difficult

times, it's nice to see a countrypub has been given theaward”. “We are very pleased,especially with the currenteconomic climate that CAMRAhas recognised the hard workthat goes into running this pub".

The pub has flagstone andwood floors, wooden settles,and a real fire, which enhancesthe rural ambience of a pintfrom a choice of up to eightpredominately local ales. Homecooked food is also served in aseparate dining area.

The pub will now go on tothe County competition, whereis will be judged against thewinner of West NorfolkCAMRA’s Pub of the Year.

NORFOLK NIPS | Branch Pubs of the Year

Branch Pub of The Year

SPRING 2009 | 53

Mark & Marie offer you a warm welcome to the

Fox and Hounds22 Station Rd, Heacham, Norfolk PE31 7EX

We are a free house specialising in realales. The first pub in Heacham to be in

the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.Regular Quiz and Music nights.

EASTER BEER FESTIVAL35+ BEERS AND LIVE MUSICApril 10th Egypt (Rock Blues)April 11th Tipitina (Swing / Jazz)

April 12th Hillbilly Rats

Tel: 01485 570345OPEN ALL DAY7 DAYS A WEEK

West Norfolk POTY

The West Norfolk branch arepleased to announce that ourPub of the Year for 2009 isThe Union Jack in Roydonnear King’s Lynn.

The Union Jack is run andowned by Trevor and MandyBarlow, who were delightedto have won this award. Onhearing of their success theysaid “It is a great achieve-ment and an honour toreceive this award. We wouldlike to thank our local andloyal customers for theirsupport over the years andour staff who are a real creditto us. The four beers onoffer change frequently andare chosen in consultationwith the regulars.

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 53

54 | SPRING 2009

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 54

O ur Head Brewer, Craig Fermoy, and I havehad a long-running discussion about ourflagship "Humpty Dumpty Ale" at 4.1% - a

beer we inherited when we took over thebrewery in 2006. On the one hand, we aresensitive to the fact that it is quite light in colour- we call it "amber" but it is well on its way togold. We think it makes sense for a brewery'sbest bitter to be a more traditional nut-browncolour. But on the other hand, it's hard not togive the market what it wants, and "Humpty"sells well. There's no denying that golden alesdo well in the marketplace today.

So, I'm giving Craig a story about reformu-lating Humpty to something a little darker andCraig says, "No." Guess who wins...?

This was really the germ of the idea for ournew beer. We wanted to make a darker beer at best bitterstrength - 4.1%abv, with a stronger hop profilethan our flagship. We would call it "Bad Egg" - aname and concept we've wanted to develop forsome time. While the name has whiffy connota-tions in some respects, that's not what we had inmind for this beer.

"Bad Egg" would be a "bad" biker egg - an“over-easy rider” - a leather-clad cousin of ourmonocled, hail-fellow-well-met Humpty mascot.He would be more brash, more "in your face"than our usual pump clips. And it wouldn't hurtto bring him to market at Easter. If he's wellreceived, he can always stay in rotation. Apartfrom the egg, there's nothing particularly Easteryabout an ovoid biker in leathers - and if anyonecan market egg-based themes that are slightly"off the wall", it must be Humpty Dumpty.

The PumpclipIt can take a fair while to bring a beer to market,

and the marketing can be a bit of an after-thought. But in this case, we made an earlystart on the artwork. Without the right artwork,the concept would be pretty weak at the hand-pump.

For Bad Egg, we wanted something differentfrom our main branding themes of classic trainsand Norfolk Broads life. We thought we wouldtry out a different artist for a change - somethinga little grittier.

Searching the web, I came across an illustratorcalled "Doodling Jim" Browne(http://www.doodlingjim.com/). Jim had animage on his site that wasn’t a world away fromwhere I thought we wanted to be - a full-onview of a rather scary looking face.

I had a look through the rest of his portfolioand liked the edginess of some of his work.

Jim and I went a few rounds, starting from adescription of what we had in mind through"roughs" as Bad Egg moved from somethingquite scary and not very egglike through to hisfinal form, which we feel is a much better fitwith the brand.

NORFOLK NIPS | Birth of a Beer

The Birth of a New Beer:Hatching “Bad Egg”

SPRING 2009 | 55

by Stephen George,Humpty Dumpty Brewery

Continued Overleaf

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56 | SPRING 2009

Birth of a Beer - continued | NORFOLK NIPS

Jim's master stroke from my perspective wasthe tattooed knuckles with the beer name on

them. Beautiful touch! We love the way heoverhangs the edge of the pump clip, too. Thisone is big and pretty hard to ignore.

Jim is a fast worker who warmed quickly to ourconcept. This only took us a week or so tofinalise. So now we had our branding - we justhad to design the beer.

The BeerDespite what the marketing folks say, you don’tdrink with your eyes. Maybe the pump clipraises a chuckle and gets the first pint insomeone's hand, but after that they won't comeback if the beer's not worth drinking. We set outfrom the beginning to make sure Bad Egg was aworthy pint.

We know from experience pretty well how tomake a 4.1% bitter. Mostly pale malt, somedarker malts for colour and complexity, mediumhoppiness. So we had a pretty good startingpoint for recipe formulation. We do our recipedevelopment on a 5-gallon all-grain homebrew

The pub with no bar, alesdirect from cask.

Watch www.nelsonslocal.co.uk for caskale week guests.

New Italian menu: not just pizza andpasta. Sunday lunch still available.Live music every Thursday from8.45pm. All details on the website.

Real fires. Huge garden. Come & visit Nelson’s local.

Walsingham Road, Burnham ThorpeNorfolk PE31 8HN01328 738241

The Lobster& Stables Restaurant

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

Large Beer Gardens • Dogs are welcome

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

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

Sunday 12 noon to 12pm

BEER FESTIVALS ON BANK HOLIDAYS

FRESH FOOD

SERVED DAILY

Vegetarian and Vegan

options available

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 56

NORFOLK NIPS | Birth of a Beer - continued

SPRING 2009 | 57

set-up that mirrors our production plant, so itwas primarily a matter of selecting the mashcomponents and the hops and giving it a firstgo. We did this in mid-December.

The first beer was 94.5% pale malt, 3% crystalmalt, 2% caramalt and half a percent of choco-late malt. We decided to target about 33bittering units (fairly bitter for the style andgravity) and a strong late addition of hops tobring up the aroma. We planned a hot mash toleave some unfermentables and a bit of residualbody. After that, you really have to wait and seewhat you get.

What we got was, well, not what we wanted.It was both lighter in colour and more bitterthan we were targeting (though the bitternessmellowed with time). But it served as a basis forus to dial in to the final recipe. First, an increasein colouring malts to deepen the colour. Thentwo tweaks of the finishing hops to reach a morepalatable balance - first too low, then rightwhere we wanted it. We decided to keep thehopping 100% East Kent Goldings.

It took us four trial brews in all. By mid-February, we had agreed on the releasecandidate. From here, we just have to scale itup and we’re ready to go. We’ll be brewing thisin early March with a release to market aroundMarch 30th. Keep an eye out for Bad Egg inyour local pub from early April.

A Recipe for HomebrewersAs Bad Egg came off our homebrew set-up, we

have agreed to share our recipe at homebrewscale for anyone who might be interested to trythis one at home.

HUMPTY DUMPTY “BADEGG” - Homebrew RecipeFor all-grain homebrewers, we assume a 75%apparent efficiency and 20% extraction utilisa-tion of hop flowers. You will need to adjust thisrecipe to your own brewhouse values. Allvalues are for a 23-litre (ca. 5 gallon) batch

Grain Bill 4124g Pale Malt196g Crystal 150 Malt164g Caramalt50g Chocolate Malt

Water treated to Burton-on-Trent equivalentMash 68C 1 hourBoil 60 minutes33 EBUHopping for 23 litres

90g Goldings Hops (ours are 4.2% alpha acidat boil – you will need to adjust quantity fordifferent alpha acid content)

54g Goldings Hops at end of boil (let standfor 20 minutes before cooling)

Ferment with English Ale Yeast OG 1044FG ~1012 (it should finish on the high sidedue to non-fermentables)ABV 4.1%

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 57

58 | SPRING 2009

The RailwayFreehouseStation Rd, North Elmham

01362 668300In the current Good Beer Guide,

CAMRA members and supporters of local microbrewers

REAL ALES • REAL FOODREAL PUB

Colin & Julie Smithlook forward to seeing you!

The Street, Rockland All SaintsSally Ann & Binz bid you a warm welcome

where our aim is to make your visit as pleasurable as possible with good food, fine

drink and a friendly atmosphere!

OpenTuesday - Sunday

11am - 3pm & 6pm - 11pm

Food ServedTuesday - Sunday

12pm - 2pm & 6.30pm - 9pm

The White Hart

01953 483361

SUNDAY LUNCH SPECIAL

1 course £7.95

2 courses (main & dessert) £10.95

Midweek Lunch Special Menu £6

LOST!

The Saracen’s Head with roomsRobert Dawson-SmithWolterton, nr. Aylsham

01263 768909www.saracenshead-norfolk.co.uk

SURLINGHAM

OPENING HOURSALL DAY, ALL YEAR, EVERY DAY FROM 11am-CLOSE

FOOD AVAILABLE ALL DAY, FROM 12 TILL 9pm

Picturesque riverside walks, RSPB reserve, On Norwich’sdoorstep. Moorings available. Open Fire, Real Ales.

Good traditional Home Cooked Food,

Main meals from £6.95All Functions catered for. Live Music, Quiz Nights.

Small Children and Dog friendly.You will receive a Warm and Friendly Welcome

from Sonia, Andy and All at the Staff at The Ferry

Ferry Road, Surlingham, Norwich, Norfolk. NR14 7ARTel: 01508 538659 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.surlinghamferryhouse.co.uk

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 58

NORFOLK NIPS | Beer Festivals

SPRING 2009 | 59

6-15 March – Springfest at the Ketts Tavern,Ketts Hill, Norwich(01603 628520)

7-8 March – Whitwell and Reepham Stationmini beer festival, noon till late

10-13 April - Union Jack, Roydon.

10-13 April - Fox & Hounds, Heacham.

18-20 March – CAMRA London Drinker beerand cider festival at the Camden Centre, Bidbor-ough Street, London WC1H 9AU. Wed/ Thu12-3pm (free), 5pm-10.30pm (?3, ?1.50CAMRA membs); Fri 12-10.30pm (?3, ?1.50CAMRA membs)

26-29 March – White Lion Beer Festival at theWhite Lion, Oak Street, Norwich.

10-19 April – Easterfest at the Rose Tavern,235 Queens Road, Norwich (01603 767713)

10-13 April – Mersea Island Brewery Festival,Mersea Island Brewery, Rewsalls Lane, EastMersea.

15-18 April – CAMRA Maldon Beer Festival –see dengiecamra.org.uk. 1600to 2330hrs. Weds, 1100 to2330 Thurs, 1100 to 2330 Fri,1100 to 2330 Sat.

22-25 April – CAMRA Bury StEdmunds Beer Festival.CornExchange, Bury St Edmunds.

22-26 April – beer festival atthe White Horse, Chedgrave.

8 May-10th May Stag, West-Acre.

18-23 May – CAMRA Cambridge Beer Festival,Jesus Green, Cambridge. Cambridge-camra.org.uk

May Bank Holiday Weekend (23-25 May)beer festival at the Greyhound, Tibenham. Livemusic will include Them Harvey Boys (well known toNorwich Beer Festival attendees!).

26-30 May – CAMRA Colchester Beer Festival.More info at Colchestercamra.org.uk13-14 June. Bedingfeld Arms.

12-13 June – CAMRA Elysian Beer Festival, ElyCity Football Club, Downham Road, Ely. [email protected] 21 June – CAMRA Beer Festival at theMuseum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket.

19-21 Jun The Kings Head at Filby, 1st anniver-sary Beer Festival on the weekend of featuringlocal beers.

24-26 July – Crusaders RUFC beer festival atBeckhithe, Little Melton, near Hethersett. This isa beer festival with camping (tents and caravanswelcome) and English breakfast available!

Beer Festival Diary

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 59

60 | SPRING 2009

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

6 St Martins Palace Plain,

Norwich NR3 1RN

01603 625891

www.thewigandpen.com

• Good Ale • Good Food • Heated smoking area

Sky & Setanta Sports TV • Late Night Opening • Real Fire

• Good Ale • Good Food • Heated smoking area

Sky & Setanta Sports TV • Late Night Opening • Real Fire

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

For the 12th successiveyear, the Wig & Pen hasbeen included inCAMRA’s Good BeerGuide. We are very proudof this achievement.

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6 March – First Friday Five. Startsat 8pmat the Mustard Pot, goingon to the Coach & Horses (ThorpeRoad), Rosary(if open), BridgeHouse and Ketts Tavern.

17 March – Norwich & NorfolkCAMRA AGM. York Tavern,Leicester Street.

27 March - Campaign Trip. Usualcoach pick-up points.

3 Apr – First Friday Five. Route tobe confirmed.

6 April- 13 April – NationalCask Ales week

8 April - 'Pub Walks' Launch in theForum. Norwich CAMRA's book ofpub walks in Norwich and Norfolkwill be launched at this event.

17-19 April - CAMRA AGM andmembers' weekend, Eastbourne.

21 April - Branch Meeting. 8pmFat Cat, West End Street, Norwich.

24 April - Campaign Trip Usualcoach pick-up points.

26 April – beer store clean-upand tidy. Please contact Martin Ward([email protected])if you can help – keeping ourequipment and its home spick andspan in between festivals is vital forthe success of our next beer festival!

1 May – First Friday Five. Itineraryto be confirmed.

19 May - Branch Meeting. Venueto be confirmed.

29 May - Campaign Trip. Usualcoach pick-up points.

30 April – beer festival planningmeeting, venue tbc

31 May – second store tidy up –please contact Martin Ward, as above.

6 June - Summer Outing, to beconfirmed.

25 June – beer festival planningmeeting

For up to date information on alltrips the Norwich CAMRA calendaris available at norwichcamra.org.uk.

Coach pick-ups: 6.47pm junc.Southwell Rd/Grove Rd; 6.55pmjunc. Old Palace Rd/West End St;7.02pm junc. Mile Cross La/EversleyRd; 7.06pm Sprowston Fire Stn;7.10pm Heartsease (Plumstead Rd.bus stop); 7.15pm Norwich Railway Stn. (Thorpe Rd bus stops).

West NorfolkBranch Diary Dates7 April - Windmill, Great Cress-ingham ( One Week Earlier ThanNormal)

12 May - Bedingfeld Arms, Oxborough

9 June - Lord Nelson, BurnhamThorpe

Norwich & Norfolk Branch Diary Dates

THE RED LION– FREEHOUSE –

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

OPENING TIMESMon-Thurs

12noon-3pm, 5.30pm-11pmOpen all day Friday, Saturdayand Sunday from 12noon.

MUSIC AND REAL ALESunday 8th March

Acoustic Jam SessionThursday 12th March

Credit Munch - Fish & ChipsSunday 15th March

St Paddy’s Party with live musicSunday 22nd March

Mother’s DayFriday 27th March

‘Fawlty Towers’ themed night

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

Restaurant open lunch and evening.Regular live music events.

Open for Bed & Breakfast every night of the week.

Featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide

Greene King’s Free Trade National CommunityPub of the Year (2007)

Greene King’s East Anglian Pub of the Year (2006)

www.redlionkenninghall.co.uk

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 61

FIRST ANNUAL BEER FESTIVALMARCH 25th - 28th30 plus beers from Micro Breweries

Rotating selection of 8 real ales from MiltonBrewery and other British micro breweries. Great choice of fine wines and malt whiskies.

A Selection of Belgian bottled beers.www.individualpubs.co.uk/whitelion/

73 Oak Street, Norwich NR3 3AQ01603 632333

Oak Street’s

only remaining

pub re-opened!

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 62

We Don’t Have a Big Screen TV, Food Or a Juke BoxWe do have 17 handpumps, with Real Ale from far andwide, 2 Real Ciders and 2 Real Ales From gravity, a

large car park, large beer garden With heated smokingshelter, darts, pool, quizzes And crib.

We hold two beer festivals each year.

The Royal Oak lies at the heart of the community andnew customers are always welcome. Come along andget a real welcome from a real pub selling real ale!!!!!!Nick, Delia And The Team would love to see you soon.

The Royal Oakat Poringland

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

from Norwich stops right outside.

Contact us on

01508 493734 [email protected]

Norwich And Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

Norfolk Pub Of The Year 2007

Good Beer Guide Listed

EASTER BEER FESTIVALFri 10th April - Friday 17th April

NN#148:Layout 1 12/03/2009 08:38 Page 63

FREEMOUSE 49 West End Street, Norwich NR2 4NA 01603 624364

TWO TIMES CAMRA NATIONALPUB OF THE YEAR (1998 & 2004)

Up to real ales available all year round

bottled beers from around the world featuring 25 countries, from Mexico to Mongolia, Jamaica to Japan and China to the Czech Republic

Draught continental beers including 5 fruit beers

3080

15

TWO TIMES CAMRA NATIONALPUB OF THE YEAR (1998 & 2004)

NOW IN OUR

19TH YEAR!TAPPITS & POLYPINS

AVAILABLE ALL YEAR!

www.fatcatpub.co.uk

Fat Cat Brewery at the Cidershed, Norwich

LIVE MUSIC & ARTS VENUE01603 788508

98-100 Lawson Rd, Norwich NR3 4LF 01603 624364UP TO 15 REAL ALES INCLUDING THE FAT CAT RANGE:

ROLLS STILL 60p

Fat Cat Bitter3.8%

Honey Ale4.3%

Top Cat Pale Ale4.8%

Marmalade Cat 5.5%

Stout Cat4.6%

www.cidershednorwich.net

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