Issue27| Winter2016/17 F E BeeratHeart Eheartofstaffordshire.camra.org.uk/data/documents/... ·...

Beer at HeartBeer at HeartBeer at HeartFREE

Magazine of theHeart of Staffordshire branch of CAMRA

Issue 27 |Winter 2016/17 | www.heartofstaffordshirecamra.org.uk

Also in this issue:Also in this issue:Also in this issue:ACV for popular village pub| Page 6

Bostin’ Black Country crawl | Page 22

Nominating for the Good Beer Guide | Page 13Beer Festival no. 10 | Page 17 and much more...

Incorporating Uttoxeter & District sub-branch and covering Stafford• Stone • Eccleshall • Penkridge • Gnosall • and surrounding areas

Winter AleWinter Ale

cosy pub

It’sWinter time(but there’s no need to be afraid)

Find acosy puband awarming

See page 18

Beer at Heart 27 MASTER COMPpage 1

Friday, 25 November 2016 08:33



Beer at Heart is published quarterlyby Heart of Staffordshire CAMRA.Designed and edited by AndrewMurray. Opinions expressed arethose of the author and may notrepresent those of CAMRA, the localbranch or editor.

Beer at Heart is (c) CAMRA Ltd.

Printed by Warwick Printingwww.warwickprinting.co.uk

Winter 2016

Beer at HeartIn this issueIn this issueIn this issueIn this issue

Chair’s report / Branch Diary 5

Pub news 6

Pub of the Season: Autumn 9PotS Winter / Xmas Carols 11

Oktoberfest success 12Good Beer Guide 2018 13

Brewery news 15

Beer Festival 2017 17

Winter Ales 18

Apples & Pears 21

Black County Crawl 22

Pubs on the 101 25

Uttoxeter & District news 26

Potteries news 29

Contact us / Contacting you 31

CAMRA Curmudgeon 32

Desert Island Pubs 34

Join CAMRA 35

From the EditorIt’s winter time, not most people’s favourite season(certainly not mine), but every cloud has a silverlining and that lining my friends is pubs, thosesanctuaries and the wonderful winter ales theydispense that lift your spirits and warm your frozenextremities. Kelly Porter extols the virtues ofwinter ales—with a name like that she had to likedark beers—in the centre pages.

It’s great to be able to report on the opening ofanother pub in the Heart of Staffordshire area.Strictly speaking this is a re-opening, but I expectthe Shrewsbury Arms makeover to be as radicaland wonderful a transformation as when Joulestook over Ye Olde Rose and Crown that it ineffect becomes an entirely new pub. And there isgood news on the horizon for denizens of the beerdesert that is Baswich—see page 6.

Volunteers at our beer festival had a bostin’ timein several of the Black Country’s finest pubs.Thanks to Martin Salt for remembering more than Idid and bringing it all to life again on page 22.Planning for our next festival (our 10th) begins inJanuary. Come and join us—we need your input!

We’re going Carol Singing in a pub—see page 11.

Finally, I am sorry that this season’s issue does notcontain a picture of Phil Vickers’ legs.

Andy [email protected]

Issue 27 | Winter 2016/17 | Beer at Heart | 3

Advertising: Mike HarkerE:[email protected]:07717 473 935

Quarter page £35Half page £50Full page £75

Discounts for regular placementsCirculation 2,500

NEXTCOPY DEADLINE 9th FEBRUARY 2017





WHAT IS CAMRA

Chair’sReport

After a decent summer which continuedalmost to bonfire night, it has nowsnowed - time to find a cosy pub with areal fire!

Despite the new Good Beer Guide onlybeing published in September, it is nowtime to start working on the next one for2018, such are the long lead-in times.Unfortunately this means there may besome degree of obsolescence with thebook. A prime example is the Railwayin Norton Bridge which this time lastyear was doing well and nominated forthe Guide, having good beer,atmosphere and customer base. But nowit’s closed, boarded up and a loss to thecommunity.

It is an example of rapidly changingtimes and circumstances, also persistentand serial road closures which haveaffected the village. It is something Ihave mentioned before: use facilities orlose them - forever!

Mike Harker has emphasized this in thebranch diary mailout regarding publictransport, especially bus services.

There is more on the selection processfor the next Good Beer Guide on page 13.

Talking of future planning, the dates fornext year’s Beer Festival have been setfor the end of July, at the same venue(Blessed Bill’s). Planning meetings startin January if you are interested inhelping. See page 17 for details.

Neil ButlerChair, Heart of Staffordshire CAMRA

Welcome to Beer at Heart no. 27

BranchDiaryNB dates and venues aresubject to change, so before making aspecial journey please check the diary onour website or [email protected]

DECEMBER 2016

FRIDAY 16th DECEMBER—CHRISTMAS CURRY – Spice Island, Stafford –Meet in the Sun at 7.30pm. Contact MikeHarker by 9th December to book

SUNDAY 18th DECEMBER—CAROL SINGING AT THE ANCHOR – Meet atthe Anchor, High Offley (12 for 12.30pm) –Further details on page 12

THURSDAY 22nd DECEMBER—PRE-CHRISTMAS DRINKS – the Greyhound,Stafford – Meet at 8pm

WEDNESDAY 28th DECEMBER—WEST MIDS BEERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS –Barton’s Arms, Birmingham – Meet at 12 Noon

JANUARY 2017

TUESDAY 10th JANUARY—BRANCH/COMMITTEE MEETING – Shrews-bury Arms, Eastgate Street, Stafford - 8pm.

SATURDAY 21st JANUARY—VISIT TO CAMRA MACHESTER BEER & CIDERFESTIVAL – GMEX – 10.02 Train Stafford toManchester – ret 19.07 (arr. Stafford 8pm)

THURSDAY 26th JANUARY—BEER FESTIVAL MEETING – County Staff Club,Eastgate Street, Stafford – 8pm

NOTE: Due to Public Transport cuts it isincreasingly difficult to organise Socialactivities. I will continue to promote the use ofPublic Transport whenever available!




Pub news

STAFFORD

The Grapes now offers four real ales.The pub was along the route of thebranch’s recent South End Crawl; OtterAle and Salopian Shopshire Gold were onamongst others and in good nick so ifyou like live music with your real ale thisis the place to be!

Ye Olde Rose & Crown now has a non-Joules guest beer every week. People PlayVinyl there the 2nd Monday of each month(free) and the Stafford Knot StorytellingGroup meets every 2nd Tuesday (£5). Andthere’s jam night every Wednesday!

At the Floodgate Banjo Man Dan Walsh isthe star attraction at their next Tiny PubConcert, on 16th January. Pagoda Projectare on 20th March. Tickets from the pub.

BASWICHTitanic Brewery have applied for planningpermission to convert the old Co-Op storeon Bodmin Avenue into a café/bar.Ironically the Co-Op moved to the site ofBaswich’s former pub the Lynton Tavern,which closed in 2009. If approved it surelymeans the return of real ale to the area.

6 | Beer at Heart | www.heartofstaffordshirecamra.org.uk

It’s mostly good news this time with the re-opening of quite a few pubsand CAMRA has helped to protect another withianiACV

What is an ACV?An ACV is an Asset of Community Value. It is alaw to put the brake on developers destroyingsuch assets to make a quick buck and to allowa local community the chance to buy it forthemselves. If your community has an asset,such as a pub, you don't want to lose then anACV can be taken out on it.

Once an ACV is in place then any intendedchange of use or intended sale of the asset hasto notified to the ACV holder. Once granted,an ACV lasts for five years, unless and until anintended change of use is notified. If a changeof use is notified within the five year periodthen the holder(s) of the ACV have six monthsto bid to buy the asset. Note that this is a rightto bid, NOT a right to buy.

More on ACVs in the next issue of Beer atHeart

WESTONLocals are applying for an ACV for theWoolpack, with the support of theirparish council.

They felt that Marstons were allowingthings to slide at the popular village puband possibly had an ulterior motive.Mike and Kelly from HoS CAMRAattended the parish council meeting,giving advice and offering support withthe ACV application. Reports are thatthings are back on track at the pub, butan ACV is a good precautionarymeasure if you are worried about a pubbeing sold off to developers.



The Shrewsbury Arms on EastgateStreet should be open by the time youread this—8th December—with 10handpulls and a food offer of fresh cobs,pork pies and scotch eggs.

Pub news continued...

ANYTOWNAnypubLandlords—your pub news could havebeen here. Drop me a line with shortsnippets about your upcoming events,real ale promotions, beer festivals etc.

[email protected]

NORTON BRIDGESadly, the Railway Inn has closed for good,road closures the final nail in the coffin.

BRADLEYThe Red Lion (below) will re-open itsdoors on Monday 12th Decemberfollowing a major refurbishment.

STONEThe Borehole has won an EnjoyStaffordshire Tourism Award for the mostdog-friendly business in the county!

The Wheatsheaf was due to re-open onThursday 1st December serving lunchtime and evening meals and local ales arealso promised. We wish new landlordClaire the very best.





Autumn Pub of the SeasonThe Kings Arms, StaffordThe Kings Arms is a brisk 10-minute walknorth from Stafford town centre, three quar-ters of the way along Peel Terrace (or onequarter, depending on which end you startfrom). On a chilly Autumn or cold Winterevening the soft lighting and warm ambi-ence beckon you in.

Since taking over in September 2015 EdHayward has restored the fortunes of thisclassic Victorian terrace pub. Up to fivereal ales and six real ciders (three in win-ter) are available.

Ed’s relationship with the pub’s ownersDorbiere allows him the freedom to sourcehis beers from whichever breweries helikes, and he aims for a good blend ofstyles and strengths. On my visit to deliverthe good news the regular Draught Basswas accompanied by guests from Ushers,the Brew Foundation, Camerons and Timo-thy Taylor. I had a pint of Brew Founda-tion’s Little Bitter That and it was just right.Guest ales and ciders are constantly rotat-ing, so you can find a new drink to tickleyour tastebuds on every visit. Prices arevery competitive, ranging from £2.80 to£3.20 per pint, and the Kings Arms is one ofthe few pubs in our area to offer a discountto CAMRA members on beer and cider.

The Kings has held mini-beer festivals andthe next one is planned for early Spring2017. They’ve had a gin week, a whiskyweek is coming up in December, they haveforeign bottled beers and ‘craft beers’ ontap, all at seriously good prices.

Readers may not be aware that the Kingshas a large beer garden, unusual for thissort of pub, which Ed landscaped last sum-mer. It may not get much use at this time ofyear but should come into its own when theseason changes; Ed has plans for a monthlymarket there from Spring onwards. The

pub’s exterior has just been painted andthe Kings is looking very smart right now.

The pub is properly rooted in its commu-nity: it has seven darts and cribbage teamsplus a Sunday league football team. It wasrecently packed out for a darts exhibitionmatch with Steve Beaton (aka The BronzedAdonis). Customers have raised over £1000for the Donna Louise Trust. Stafford Rangersfans get a discount of 10% before and aftermatches at nearby Marston Road.

Every Sunday night is Quiz Night, and it’llbe eyes down for fortnightly Bingo everyother Tuesday from December. There’s livemusic about once a month, usually on aSaturday night. The pub currently does notserve meals, but hey, it does pretty mucheverything else you could askifor.

Ed is full of ideas for the pub but is con-scious too of his regulars’ wishes and theneed to retain the best traditional aspectsof the pub whilst making things fresh andvibrant in order to attract new customers.

A Pub of the Season presentation is due tobe arranged. Local CAMRA members willbe notified via the monthly e-newsletterand details will also be posted on our Face-book page and online diary.

Andy Murray




Located in the heart of Staffordshire in the picturesque village ofSandon,The Dog & Doublet is a delightful Arts & Crafts period Inn

As a popular dining destination it isimportant that The Dog & Doublet stocksa range of easy drinking ales to comple-ment the food offering - Salopian Breweryin Shropshire, Silhill Brewery from Solihulland Joules Brewery from Market Draytonprovide a range of pale ales that appeal tothese customers including the favouriteShropshire Gold.

These pale ales sit comfortably alongsidetheir darker alternatives which, as heavierdrinks, prove to be more popular toweekend drinkers.

Having received the maximum point scorein the most recent Cask Marqueaccreditation visit The Dog & Doublet isthe perfect choice for any Real aleaficionado.

This charming yet stylish gastro innis strategically placed between thecounty town of Stafford andUttoxeter, Lichfield and Stone andis easily accessible from the A51and M6, making The Dog &Doublet Inn the ideal base fromwhich to explore the many delightswhich Staffordshire has to offer

Since its takeover by Staffordshire-based hospitality company TheLewis Partnership in 2009, TheDog & Doublet offers traditionalInn Keeper hospitality, providing awarm and friendly ambiance making it the idealplace for you to truly indulge, enjoy and relax.

The Dog & Doublet, like all other propertiesin The Lewis Partnership portfolio, takes careto use the very best ingredients sourced fromthe very best local suppliers. The hand pullbeers on offer at the popular bar are given thesame consideration and are supplied fromlocal breweries with great thought andcontemplation going into the choice.

Banks’ Amber is a permanent feature with itshigh quality ingredients producing a classic,easy drinking beer which is a regulars’favourite.

Further hand pulls provide a changingselection of beers also from the Marstonsrange – Thwaites, Ringwood, Wychwood toname a few.

ADVERTORIAL

The Dog & Doublet, Sandon



CAMRA CarolsThe Anchor

Sunday18th December12-30pm

All WelcomeMeet at Stafford Railway Station 9.55am forthe No.5 Bus to the Navigation, Gnosall.Depart from Navigation 10.20am, walk to theAnchor along the Shropshire Union Canal(hope that the weather is kind to us!!!). Taxiwill be booked for our return to Stafford.

Our Summer award winner (remember the summer?) was the Anchor at High Offley, acharming and unique hostelry on the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal.

The Anchor holds a special place in the hearts of our branch at Christmas time too, as thegang have been getting together to sing carols at the pub on the last Sunday before Xmassince Jesus was a nipper. And this year is no exception, so get yerselves down there aroundnoon on 18th December for a 12.30pm start. Some of our branch are planning to walk fromGnosall (about 5 miles)...perhaps the first tune should be ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’?

CAMRA does Christmas

The nominees for Winter, which all have real fires, are:

Moat House, Acton Trussell Royal Exchange, StoneSun, Stafford Wolseley Arms, Wolseley BridgeBorehole, Stone Holly Bush, SaltCrown, Hyde Lea Star, Penkridge

To vote for your favourite, please send an email [email protected] the name of the pub, your name and your CAMRA membership number

All responses must be received by midnight on 9th February 2017.The winner will be announced in the next issue of Beer at Heart.

Vote for your WinterPub of the Season




Slaters Brewery in Stafford wastransformed into a Munich beer tent forthe night on Friday 21st October, withtheir second Oktoberfest.

The event was a great success, as a bigcrowd turned out to drink perfectly-conditioned Slaters ales from steins, listenand dance to the brilliantly bizarreBierkeller Schunklers German OompahBand fronted by Little Willy and Helmut,eat bratwurst (well, pizza) and play tabletennis whilst wearing Bavarian attire.

At the end of the night a trophy wasawarded for Best Costume, and HoSCAMRA’s very own Brünhilde Kelly Porter(right) deservedly captured the prize.

Andy Murray

Oktober in Stafford




Good Beer Guide 2018 selectionIt’s a very important and exciting stagein CAMRA’s annual calendar, whenbranches select their pubs to go in thefollowing year’s Good Beer Guide.

As always members are heavily involvedin the process from the beginning, bynominating their favourite pubs (andclubs). Without a nomination a pub willfall at the first hurdle.

After nominations, in early 2017 thebranch will hold GBG selection meetingsto which all members are invited, to helpwhittle down the nominees to the allottedquota (19 in Heart of Staffordshire’scase). Each pub will be visited to ensurethat it serves real ale and that it is ofgood quality. Beer scores logged byCAMRA members on whatpub.com overthe past 12 months are also an importantfactor in whether a pub gets in the GBG.

I’m a CAMRAmember, what do I do now?We’ve created an online form where you cannominate pubs or clubs in the Heart ofStaffordshire area.

You will need to input your CAMRA member-ship number in order to validate your entry.

The form is accessible from our websitewww.heartofstaffordshirecamra.org.uk

Deadlines for nominations and voting were stillbeing finalised as we went to press. Look outfor the December members’ email from MikeHarker for this plus dates of the branch shortlist-ing and final selection meetings.

And don’t forget to buy the Good Beer Guide2017—an ideal Christmas present—or ask Santafor a copy of your very own. Handily there’s anorder form below with a CAMRA discount!






SLATERS of Staffordwww.slatersales.co.uk

SIBA AWARDS—Slater’s have won threeawards at the competition held atBirmingham Beer Festival; Bronze for RyeIPA and Queen Bee, and a Gold for Haka.

EMPEROR—The exceptional Emperor IPAwas re-launched at the brewery Open Day(3rd December); only a small number ofbarrels are being produced—seek it out inour local pubs or at Slater’s Bar inWolverhampton! Also available in bottlesfrom the brewery shop.

LYMESTONE of Stonehttp://www.lymestonebrewery.co.uk/

The brewery is very busy at present,brewing almost continuously for a largeorder for Wetherspoons. Stone Cold willbe available at most outlets in the run upto Christmas. While I was visiting over200 empty barrels and a whole lorryload of hops were being delivered, sothe working area is becoming a bitconstricted.

The seasonal beer for December will bePudding Stone, which will lead intoCherry Stone in the New Year period.

Both the Lymestone Vaults and theBorehole made the 2017 Good BeerGuide, with the former being selectedas Potteries Branch Pub of the Year andCider Pub of the Year 2016.

Various other awards have beengained, including a SIBA gold medal forbottled Stone the Crows and two awardsin Stafford Borough's Green Awards -

one prize being a garden compost binwhich didn't fit in Viv's Fiat Panda!

The final brewery tour of the year tookplace on 2nd December. BEER, BIKES andBAND is on the evening of 10thDecember. Lymestone will be launchingtheir first lager next year, and want yourhelp to choose the recipe. On Friday 16thDecember you can sample the shortlistedsix, with the £5 entry fee going to charity.Details and tickets from the brewery.

If you would like to receive a copy of anew monthly Lymestone newsletter,please forward your email address to thebrewery.

Neil Butler

B L I T Z E N—S l a t e r ’ sChristmas beeris also availablein cask andbottled form.

BREWERY TOURS—The regular tourswill re-commence on 3rd February (phonethe Brewery to book tickets £15pp). Therewill be some exciting announcementsabout new beers for 2017.

Mike Harker

Brewery news



THE GREYHOUNDCAMRA branch Pub of the Season

Winter 2015/16

In the CAMRA Good Beer Guide every year since 20058 Real Ales available

Quiz nights Tuesday and Sunday(entry just £1 per team)Meet the brewer nightsSky & BT Sports

Opening times:4pm—11:30pm Mon-Thu4pm—12midnight Fri12noon—12midnight Sat12noon—11pm Sun

The GreyhoundCounty Road, Stafford ST16 2PU Tel: 01785 222432

Steve and Bonita look forward to your visit



Beer festival No. 10

Hello everyone,

Some of you will be aware that I havevolunteered to take on the role of StaffordBeer and Cider Festival 2017 Organiser. Iam really looking forward to the challengeand working with you all to make theFestival a success. I have taken on boardcomments made at the 'wash up' meetingrecently and clearly there are some keylessons we need to learn from last year,and hopefully these will lead toimprovements in how we deliver theFestival in 2017.

As you will hopefully be aware, it is ourtenth iteration of the Festival and this is avery important milestone for everyoneconnected with the Heart of Staffordshirebranch and we want to make it asmemorable as possible. We need a themefor the Festival which we will need to agreeearly on so we make sure this is reflectedon publicity material and glasses. I wouldlike everyone to start thinking now whatwe could do to make it different, fancydress possibly but I am sure there areother ideas... put your 'thinking caps' on,don't dismiss anything, everyone'ssuggestions are important. Please bringthese to the first meeting of 2017 or send tomyself via email and I will make sure theseare raised: [email protected].

Finally, we can't run a Festival withoutvolunteers: that's not just people working atthe festival or doing the 'set up' and 'takedown' but also the people behind thescenes that start planning for the Festivalearly in January. WE NEED YOU! There areplenty of roles to be shared out and thefestival committee are a great bunch, and areminder it's a team effort, everyone of usis important in making the Festival a

27th—29th July 2017The planning starts now!

success. So if you fancy carrying outSponsorship or Publicity/Social Media, or thebeer ordering etc. or you just want to comealong and listen then you are more thanwelcome.

We now have a venue and a date and time forthe first Festival meeting in 2017. It will takeplace at the County Staff Club on EastgateStreet on Thursday 26th of January. Start timeprompt at 8pm please as we have a lot to getthrough.

The lady managing the venue has kindlyagreed to let us have the room without anycharge and will lay on food, i.e. sandwichesand chips etc.

Thanks again for your support and see you allin the New Year.

Paul Hewitt


Full house at the record-breaking 2015 Festival

BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL 20171st PLANNING MEETING

THURSDAY 26th JANUARY 8.00pm

COUNTY STAFF CLUBEASTGATE ST, STAFFORD

ALL WELCOME!



Wonderful Winter Alesan appreciation by the Princess of Darkness, Kelly Porter

Winter can be a tedious, boring time. Darknights, cold mornings, wasted hours spentscraping frosted over windscreens…but,there is a positive side to winter – WinterAles!! Am I the only person who relishes thepubs ditching the “fragrant” IPAs? InAugust, I am craving a lovely, malty beer,and you can’t get one for love nor money.Give me a twiggy beer any day over yourcitrus-y, weak, tedious summer ales. I likemy ales like I like my men – dark, strongand rich. I want a beer that puts hairs on mychest. I want a beer that I end up regrettingthe next day.

There isn’t a set definition for a Winter Ale(though to qualify I think it should be thekind of beer you drink by an open fire), butold ales, milds, porters and stouts are allwinter-friendly. Barley wine can also beconsumed as a winter ale, though Irecommend drinking it out of a paper-bagto hide your shame. The ABVs of winter alesare typically higher than your namby-pamby summer ales, usually 5.0% plus.

Anyway, less about what I think. Let’s moveon to the history of Winter Ales. Historic-ally, winter ales weren’t winter ales, theywere just ales. Beer to be enjoyed 365 daysa year.Old Ale recalls the type of beerbrewed before the Industrial Revolution,stored for months or even years in unlinedwooden vesselsknown as tuns.The beer wouldpick up somelactic sourness asa result of wildyeasts, lacto-bacilli and tanninsin the wood. Theresult was a beer


dubbed‘stale' bydrinkers.

Porter (norelation)emerged inLondon andturned thebrewingindustry upside down early in the 18thcentury. It was a dark brown beer - 19th-century versions became jet black - that wasoriginally a blend of brown ale, pale ale andold or ‘stale' ale. It supposedly acquired thename Porter as a result of its popularityamong London's street-market workers.

At the time, a generic term for the strongestbeer in a brewery was stout. The strongestversions of Porter were known as StoutPorter, reduced over the years to simplyStout.

Porter declined in popularity after the FirstWorld War, and disappeared completely inthe 1950s. Theistyle was revived by craft

Our local breweries have something to offerin the way of Winter Ales. LymestoneBrewery’s brew for November is Nose to theGrindstone, which is a copper-coloured ale,

made with rich-crystal malts andcascade hops. It’s not too strong, at a4.3% ABV. (I can vouch that this is atasty beer, as I obviously had to try itfor research purposes for the article.)In December, Lymestone will launchPudding Stone, which will be a red ale,4.4% ABV. If you want to try these ales,the brewery tap, the Borehole in Stone,will have them on offer.

NB All the opinions here are the author’s own, andpossibly wouldn’t be the same opinions when sober



brewersionly fairly recently.

Slater’s of Stafford also have acouple of winter offerings. Blitzen,named after the second mostpopular reindeer, is a dark,malty, ruby ale with a traditionalwinter warmer feel and Chrissy-pud fruit and spice flavours. [Mypersonal winter favourite—Ed.]It comes in at a sessionable 4.0%.

The other Slater’s brew isEmperor English IPA—7.0% ABV. Brewed inlimited batches, and only at this time ofyear, Emperor is a deep golden colour,thus lighter than most winter ales, but stillwarms the cockles beautifully. Both of thesebrews are also available in bottles.

If you are a big fan of winter ales, CAMRAhost an annual National Winter BeerFestival. Next year’s festival will be held inNorwich, on the 21-25 February (seewww.nwaf.org.uk for more details.) At thefestival, the beers are judged and the best

in each category are put forwardfor Champion Winter Beer ofBritain. Twenty-sixteen’s championwas Chocolate Marble, by MarbleBrewing, Manchester. This is aflavourful stout, and if you fancysampling it, it might be worth a tripto the beautiful Marble Arch pub inManchester, which is thebrewery’s tap.

There are also some local Winter Ale festiv-als you can attend – keep your eye on yourcopy of What’s Brewing for the latest news.

The Heart of Staffordshire branch hasplenty of real ale pubs scattered about thearea, so nip down to your local real ale puband get sampling some winter ales. Take itfrom a woman who likes it dark, you won’tbe disappointed.

Historical content of this article mostlynicked by the Editor from www.camra.org.uk




AA Recommended, AA Pick of the Pubs,The Good Pub Guide’s Staffordshire DiningPub of the Year. As recommended in: LesRoutiers in Britain; Which? Guide. FREEHOUSE



Apples and Pears

Award winning cider and perry makers

Our cider and perry is made using freshlypressed juice, naturally fermented andmatured to give character and flavour.

Contact Nick on 07958 310713 oremail [email protected]: www.hurstviewcider.co.uk

Hurst View Cider, Ivetsey Road,Wheaton Aston, Stafford ST19 9QP

INGREDIENTS

1½ litres of dry cider7 tbsp Calvados (optional)400ml apple juice75g dark brown sugar1 orange, sliced4 whole cloves2 cinnamon stick, broken in half1 tbsp allspice berries (or star anise)

METHOD1. Pour the cider, Calvados, apple juice andsugar into a large saucepan, and gently heatto mull.2. Add the orange slices and spices, bringto a simmer, then turn down and keep on alow heat for 20 mins.

Winter and Christmas are indelibly linked withmulled wine. But have you ever tried mulled cider?For me it is far superior, a much better match for thespices. Some pubs sell it or you could try this recipe!

Mulling it Over


The Merchants pub in Rugby, where I first tasted mulled cider, served it from a teapotinto handled, dimpled half-pint glasses, which I found charming. I wish I knew theirrecipe for mulled cider! This one is adapted from Good Foodmagazine, December 2013

Pictu

refrom

pattysfood

.com.Ig

nore

thecran

berries



Bostin’in the Black CountryBeer Festival Thank You TripSaturday 12th November saw a motleygang of Volunteers from the 9th StaffordBeer Festival embark on the “Thank youfor working” trip.

After much discussion over thedestination it was finally settled,Wolverhampton and surrounds of theBlack Country to visit some absolute pubgems. If you've never been you reallyshould, there are some proper corkers inthe area and I know we only scratchedthe surface. I don't think I will do any ofthem justice here, and sadly even theGood Beer Guide, as good as it is, canonly do so much to describe theseclassics. If you get a chance to go, take itor better still create an opportunity, asthey really show classic pubs run as pubsshould be.

A short train hop to Wolverhampton, wedecamped to the nearby Wetherspoons fora swift one whilst we double checked busroutes and tickets. The Beacon Hotel atSedgley was our first stop off the No1 bus.Home of Sarah Hughes brewery, the pubhas one of the most unusual serveries orbar serving areas. Essentially it's in themiddle of the pub with four totally differentrooms leading from there but the beers areserved from a couple of hatches with all the

hand pulls facing inwards. Chalk boardsshout the beers on offer which will ALWAYSdisplay one of the best local Black Countrybeers money can buy, the pub’s very ownSarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild plus othersfrom its own stable. The Dark Ruby Mild isan superb example of a mild, and areminder of the roots of the heavy industrythe area is named after, why this type ofbeer is brewed and one that just has to besampled.

After some suitable refreshment and a gaswith the locals and a quick bus change onSedgley high street we moved on to thenext stop, home of the Fownes brewery, theJolly Crispin. At the top of a brow thereare some great views back over the mazeof the Black Country from the car park.Sadly the rain distorted this, and of coursewe were not there for the views but thequality beer inside. Our cider reps werehappy with the choice and the beer boyswere very happy with the range on offer.The Fownes beer was Crispin’s Ommer andwas on top form as again were the locals.


Some of the ‘motley crew’ (not to be confusedwith Mötley Crüe) in the Jolly Crispin




Another cracking boozer with nooks andcrannies everywhere it's a great place tojust look and observe the surroundings.

A brief walk down the road gets you to theBritannia, also known as Sally's. This is aBathams boozer and you know it as soon asyou walk in with the familiar Red and Bluepumpclips enticing you to drink the nectarthey dispense. Once again it's a brilliantpub and a place to “while away the hoursconferring with locals” (to misquote fromthe Scarecrow in The Wizard Of Oz). Therewere no complaints about the Mild from thered clip (there never is) however the bluewon in my choice of drink. The Best Bitterwas its usual exceptional quality and areminder of why whenever we are luckyenough to obtain a barrel at our fest it isoften the first to sell out. It just slips downwithout any effort and it was hard to resistthe calling of another or missing the bus toour food stop for the afternoon.

Another swift bus change on Sedgley highstreet led us down the hill to the Park Inn,home of the Holden’s brewery. A moremodern feel with a spacious layout was asurprise after the previous pubs on this tripbut again no compromise on the beerquality. A broader stable of beers thanBathams, which the group embraced,Golden Glow the most popular choice. Andonto the menu…or so we thought. Sadly thechef had gone on holiday that morning sothe kitchen was closed. However we arehardy folk so half a tonne of crisps, nuts andBlack Country favourite pork scratchingsstarted to soak up the afternoon’s beer.Once again this served as a reminder ofwhy we always sell out of scratchings at ourfest. They just work so well with beer!

Interior of the Britannia, Upper Gornal

Sadly I was a party pooper with familycommitments and needed to return toStafford earlier than most but the groupchoose to return to Wolverhampton on thebus with me where I left them to samplemore delights in the city. If their partners arereading this I understand there was at leastanother pub or two blocking their way backto the train station!! I believe a local curryhouse took the brunt of the group’s hungerbut I was back home safely waiting for myown curry to be delivered.

A great day all round and special thanks toMike Harker whose knowledge of the busnumbers and stopping points for thesefabulous pubs proved us wrong time andagain!

Come and work for us at our 10th festival andyou will be able to join in next year's thankyou trip, wherever it may be!

Mr Pepperpot

Thanks to the following who made this issue possible: Tom Abbott, NeilButler, TCC, Paul Dykta, Paul Hewitt, Martin Perry, Martin Salt, Phil Vickers andthe guys at Warwick Printing. Special thanks to Mike Harker and Kelly Porter.

Articles, letters and suggestions for the next issue gratefully received by the Ed.Hopefully the next issue of Beer at Heart will appear on Thursday 9th March 2017!



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BEER GARDEN AND CAR PARK

Pubs on the 101After a visit for my wife’s birthday wereturned to the Greyhound on Yarlet Bank,Stone. Mainly to do a pub survey but alsotry some more of their superb food.

Leaving Stone was the best way to arrive(no A34 to cross). We were greeted by avery friendly manager named Emma, whoinformed us that the new owners: The TwoFat Fellows, had been there since January,taking the pub over fromWells.

All three regular ales were sampled andfound to be in good condition, they were:Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and GreeneKing IPA. No real cider was on offer.

The food quality matched our previousvisit, and was enjoyed thoroughly. My 20oz

mixed grill was delivered on a platter-sized plate. Eating a pudding was achallenge.

The food sampled over the two visits wasof a varied choice, all as good as the ale.

It is a good idea to check opening times onWhatPub and on the pub’s web page, asthey do seem approximate.

Back on the 101 to Stafford, whichincidentally comes over the bank at quite aspeed, not tried it in the dark yet; driversaid they can't see the bus stop very well,so a torch might come in handy!

Next stop: the Waggon and Horses,Stafford

Paul Dykta makes good use of his bus pass



to

Uttoxeter &District News

New breweries debutat FestivalTWO new breweries supplied beer for thevery first time at our festival:

DE14

Marston’s very new microbrewery, calledDE14 (the post code for the brewery). Thehead brewer will be supplying threecompletely new beers. They are keepingthe production levels to very smallquantities and will be providing the beersin Pin sizes barrels. At this point we don’tknow the actual names of the new beers astheir head brewer decides week by weekon the actual production run. We have, as acommittee been fortunate enough to havetasted some of their initial trial beers andall members have been very impressed.

Continues on next page...

26 | Beer at Heart | www.uttoxetercamra.org

CAMRA Beer & Cider Festival24—26 November 2016

Tom Abbott reports from our blossoming sub-branch

This has been a truly hectic time for theUttoxeter branch, having to hold weeklybranch meetings to try to organise all theaspects of setting up a beer festival. As thisis our first it has been a very steep learningcurve and we have to our cost learnt thatpreparing as early as possible will helpalleviate some of the stresses closer to theactual event. Heart of Staffordshire Branchmembers have been an enormous help andour thanks go to Phil Vickers and DaveTomkinson, who have attended our regularfestival committee meetings providing uswith much experience and wisdom, to helpensure all goes well.

We have also benefitted from the fact thatthe event will be held at Bradley HouseClub in their new events/function room. Kenand Dave have offered their support andexperience at our meetings and providedvaluable links for us with the hostelry trade.

We are now just putting together the finalpieces for printing and confirming thefestival beer and cider lists. Hopefully whenyou read this article we will have managedto come through the event unscathed!




BUNTING’S BLONDE(named after the old, nowdemolished Bunting’sbrewery)A light ale with a fruityaroma. Malty, with citrusnotes and dry hoppy finish

An IPA called EARTHMOVERGOLD (an homage toUttoxeter’s largest employerand world renownedsupplier of excavators)An English Style IPA, hoppywith a fruity finish

New brewery: Uttoxeter Brewing CompanyThe other new microbrewery to supply beers for the first time to a festivalis the Uttoxeter Brewing Company, who are providing 4 brand new beers:

With so much festival preparation going onthe branch members were pleased to beable to take a break and visit the 36th Beerfestival in the Potteries at the Fenton ManorSports Complex.

The Potteries festival organisers were excep-tionally helpful in imparting further advice onmanaging beer festivals and providing uswith the opportunity to promote our ownevent. Needless to say we also took full ad-vantage to sample some cracking beers.Many thanks to the Potteries Branch.

36th Stoke Beer and CiderFestival

An English style golden alecalled FINAL FURLONG(Uttoxeter does have aracecourse!)A smooth English style bestbitter with a floral, caramelflavour

A porter called PADDOCKPORTER (another referenceto the local racecourse)A well hopped beer with alight body and a chocolatemalt finish

The Earl Grey, Leek

Last, but certainly not least, branchmembers ventured into the moors to visitthe Midlands’ top CAMRA pub, the EarlGrey Inn.

A brilliant little pub with some excellentbeers, well deserving their national rec-ognition and a feather in the cap for thevery fortunate local CAMRA members.





So, how many of you came to The 36th StokeBeer & Cider Festival in October? A grandtime was had by all who attended, theentertainment entertained all who listened toit and most of the beer & cider wasconsumed, imbibed and, most importantlydrunk by the many happy punters whoentered through the doors. All this, and bySaturday afternoon, The Potteries Branch ofCAMRA could proudly announce that theyhad a new Pub of the Year!The time: 3pm. The place: Fenton Manor

Sports Complex. The exact place: The stageat one side of the hall at Fenton Manor SportsComplex. Our Chairman stands waiting, ourPhotographer stands poised, our YoungMembers Officer is just hoping that sheremembers to hand over the correctcertificate at the correct time. A hushed hall,not a sound can be heard. No beer is drunk,no feet move across the floor; and a numberof publicans wait in the wings, soon to becalled up onto the stage where they willlearn their fate and reap their rewards.A lone feather falls from the roof, circling

its way to the floor; all eyes watch as itreaches its destination… and The AnnualCAMRA Potteries Pub of the Year AwardsCeremony has officially begun!

CITY ALE PUBFirst Place: Holy Inadequate, Etruria.When they were called up onto the stage atthe climax of the ceremony, there wasprobably no-one in the hall more surprisedthan Jason and Rachel. Paul and Sarah, awaysomewhere playing with Sam, were equallysurprised; surprisingly, Tonk was surprisedtoo. But, in truth, is it really that big of asurprise that the Holy won? Unsurprisingly,it’s still a great place to sup a pint or three.

Second Place: Hopinn, Newcastle.In what proved to be a very close call, lastyear's winners slipped a place to Number 2,but nothing has slipped inside the walls ofthe Hop. It’s still a great place to sup a pint or

three, Martyn, Ginny, Ol and all doing theircustomers proud.

Third Place: Congress Inn, Longton.Back up in the Top 3 after spending last yearhanging out with The Merits Gang, Longton’sCongress Inn has easily maintained itspopularity over the years and this yearcelebrates a continuous decade in The GoodBeer Guide. Shaun and Sam are no doubt veryproud; and, yes, it’s still a great place to sup apint or three.

CITY CIDER PUBFirst Place: Bull’s Head, Burslem.Bob was a proud man at this year’sceremony; not only did his pub regain MeritStatus, the Titanic Tap walked away with theCider Pub of the Year trophy. Let us hope thatBob and his team go on to win the regionalaward, like they did in 2012.

CITY CLUBPorthill Park Cricket Club, Wolstanton.Can anyone beat them? Yet another year atthe top for the wonderful Porthill Park.

Pottering around the Potterieswith Martin Perry, Editor of Potters Bar


continued overleaf...



PEAKSTONES ROCK BREWING CO. LTD

Beers availableOblivion: ABV 5.5Black Hole: ABV 4.8Alton Abbey: ABV 4.5Chained Oak: ABV 4.2

Churnet Valley IPA: ABV 4.3Pugin’s Gold: ABV 4.0Nemesis: ABV 3.8

Also seasonal beers

Why not visit Crossways micropub, Uttoxeter Road,Blythe Bridge, to sample our beers

Sales enquiries: David Edwards Tel: 07891 350908 Email: [email protected]

Pottering around the Potteries continued from page 29

Beyond the main awards in The PotteriesBranch, no small mention should be made ofthe Earl Grey Inn, on Ashbourne Road inthe charming market town of Leek. Re-opening its doors after a major refurbish-ment in the summer of 2014, this small,unassuming pub goes from strength tostrength. Following on from winningStaffordshire Moorlands Pub of the Year forthe second year running, it was recentlycrowned West Midlands Regional Pub of theYear for 2016, the highest accolade that anypub in our branch area has ever won for thequality of its ale. Congratulations go out toMark & Rob!

All of the winners will go forward to theRegional Competition, and the Earl Greyjoins the other 15 regional winners in thenext round of voting. Best of luck to all ourlicensees out there.

During the long, dark days of winter, youcould do far worse than visit one of the abovepubs where you will find great beer, goodcompany and possibly a mince pie or three.Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!http://www.camrapotteries.co.uk/




Contact UsHeart of Staffordshire branchBranch officers as of 1st November 2016:Branch contact:Mike [email protected]: 2 Herons Close, Stafford ST17 4UFTel: 07717 473935

Chair: Neil [email protected]

Secretary: Phil [email protected]

Treasurer: Dave [email protected]

Membership Secretary:Mike [email protected]

Social Secretary:Mike [email protected]

Pubs Officer: Kelly [email protected]

Social Media: Kelly [email protected]

Cider Officer:Mike [email protected]

Publicity Officer: Paul [email protected]

Beer at Heart Editor: [email protected]

Webmaster: Martin [email protected]

Clubs Officer/Young Members Officer: vacantIf you’re interested in either of these roles orjoining the committee in a general capacityplease contact the Secretary.

Uttoxeter & District sub-branchBranch contact & Chair: Simon [email protected]

Search for Heart of StaffordshireCAMRA or Uttoxeter & District CAMRA

We endeavour to contact ourmembers each month via emailwith details of socials, meetings,beer festivals and news items.The emails are sent from‘MikeHarkerCAMRA’. If you don’tthink you’re receiving themplease contact Mike (emailaddress left).

Beer at Heart should be readilyavailable from your local real alepub and will be published in PDFon the branch website but if youwould like to be posted a copy ofBeer at Heart four times a year for£4 (to cover costs) please contactthe Editor.

ContactingYou

Consumer informationIf you have any complaints over shortmeasures etc. and have no satisfactionfrom the pub in question please contactStaffordshire Trading Standards:

Tel: 0300 111 8045E: [email protected]

Post: Staffordshire County Council,2 Staffordshire Place, Stafford ST16 2DH

Travel informationJourney planner incl buses and trains:http://www.travelinemidlands.co.uk/




The CAMRA Curmudgeon's heroes are Victor Meldrew and Ed Reardon. He can be contacted [email protected] and welcomes feedback, though a curmudgeonly cudgel willbe wielded for missives with poor speling, aberrant apostrophe's or those what bad grammarhas. A particular larruping is reserved for anyone who writes “Can I ask you a question?” Becauseyou already have.




The CAMRA Curmudgeon

In days of yore TCC couldwander into a hostelry andorder something to imbibeof the beery character. Fis-cal tokens were exchangedand the transaction wascomplete. But not now. TheTCC mooches alone – for

he is a solitary figure, as you might anticipate- into a licensed establishment and orders apint. The Curmudgeon studiously avoids, ofcourse, the offering of Knicker-Mocha-Muffdive and eschews asking for A GoodRogering. I am alone and I order with acertain degree of certitude. TCC would hopehe irradiates [irradiates?! - Ed] an air ofassuredness as to what he wants. And inevitablycomes the question: “Is that everything?”

Yes it is. YES. It is. If I wanted a packet of mint-choc-chip flavoured crisps (a future gripe)or a side order of a long slow screw againstthe wall (the cocktail), I am reasonablycertain I would have remembered to add it tomy order. Second and subsequent pints willbe ordered at the appropriate juncture. Butnot now.

Of late The Curmudgeon has been trying toobviate this annoyance and the conversation,between The Camra Curmudgeon and TheBar Person, almost inevitably, goes thus:TCC: A pint of Hoptimus Prime pleaseTBP: Certainly sir (or equivalent) Places pinton bar.....TCC: (pre-emptively) And that is my entireorder. Thank-youTBP: Is that everything? [aaarrrggghhh]TCC: And that concludes my entire order.Thank-youTBP: <puzzled expression> Anything else?[AAARRRGGGHHH]

TCC: And that concludes my entire order.Thank-you.

Variants on this exchange exist. Occasionallythe “Is that everything” pre-query iscouched in a tone of voice indicating incre-dulity that you have the temerity to enter thepremises with the premise of ordering one,single, solitary, stand-alone, unitary pint ofbeer. TCC sometimes revisits such locationsand orders a glass of tap-water to make hispoint (yes that IS everything). Or maybeTCC asks if he can purchase a divan or apound of carrots in order to conclude histransaction. Blank look from TBP.

An occasional grumpy gripe from a CAMRA crosspatch

TCC likes the occasional acoustic night inthe local. Maybe, even if the band are usingacoustic amplifiers. But what really gripeshim is the group who arrive because there'sentertainment on and then proceed to talkconstantly. They have to SHOUT while theband is playing. In between numbers, theyrealise they're shouting and drop the conver-sation to normal only to restart yelling whenthe band starts again. Why the **** do yougo to listen to a band and then not listen ?Not only that, why must you ruin the listeningfor all your neighbours ? When TCC takespower all such guilty people shall be linedup against the wall. TCC may have to useHadrian's Wall to eradicate this pestilence.

Not strictly CAMRA related; but TCCbecomes almost insufferably infuriated whenhe sees a manufacturer proudly offering oneof their products in 'frustration-freepackaging'. He concludes that otherproducts of theirs are DELIBERATELYwrapped in frustrating packaging. Why ????Or is this just a cantankerous glass-half-empty thing?




Desert Island PubsNo. 3: Whitefriars Olde Ale House, CoventryKelly Porter re-lives her student days circa 2004—2010 in our latest message in a bottle

When asked what my desert island pubwould be, I had to pick the pub that gave memuch pleasure over many years.

Whitefriars Olde Ale House (Gosford Street,Coventry) dates back to the 14th century,and was once part of the Whitefriarsmonastery. It is the oldest pub/building inCoventry, and given how badly Coventrywas bombed in WW2, and also attempts todemolish the building, it is a miracle it is stillstanding. This is an idyll, in what is, quitefrankly, a very grey-looking city. There arelots of nooks and crannies to explore onceyou are inside, with lovely wooden furniture,and lots of nice snugs you can sit and have achat in. There is a beautiful stained glasswindow to marvel at the front of the pub, andif you venture upstairs, there is a mural ofthe monks from the monastery. And it has alovely, open fire for the winter months(though I’m not sure I’ll need it on my desertisland).

I completed a part-time degree at CoventryUniversity, meaning I visited the city for atotal of six years. And in those six years, Ivisited Whitefriars on an almost weeklybasis. It has four cask ales on, and severalciders (although my memory does not allowme to remember exactly what they were,and this was before the days of loggingevery beer I drink…) I do know, however,that the beer was good enough to keep megoing back. Sometimes I would try and drinkas much as I could in my lunch break, and goand snooze it off in a tedious geotechnicslecture. Or sometimes, if I was really in theflow, I wouldn’t go to lectures at all. (You willbe pleased to know I did pass my degree

Famed also for its “Monster Breakfast”, itwas a great place to fill your belly. This was afull English breakfast, with toast likedoorstops, and home-cut chips. It is actuallyworth the trip to this pub for this alone, nevermind the lovely, lovely beer.

Why I haven’t visited in recent years, I do notknow. I have such fond memories of thisbrilliant pub that perhaps I don’t want to goback and spoil them. But writing this now, Iknow I will make the pilgrimage, and pay myrespects to this wonderful drinking hole.

Do you have a Desert Island Pub? If so drop the Editor a line and you could be in the next issue!



[Astonished more like—Ed.].)





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