We have recently learned of the possible closing of the Windmill in Sevenoaks Weald. The locals are rallying round to try to save the pub and the first meeting will be on the 14th September at 7:30pm in the Memorial Hall, Sevenoaks Weald. Please support your local pub. If you wish to register your support contact the branch and we will put you in touch with the Organisor of the campaign.
West Kent CAMRA’s contribution to the yearlong birthday party to celebrate 40 years of successful campaigning for Drinkers right
s and Real Ale is this fabulous quiz.
The first prize is Day as a Brewer provided by Royal Tunbridge Wells Brewery
It is simple to enter.
At the CAMRA 2010 Member’s weekend and AGM held in Douglas, Isle of Man on the 16th to the 18th April. The Gateway to Kent won the CAMRA Pub Guide of the Year award. This is a great recognition of the hard work and hours of research that went into creating the
guide by the Committee, the Editorial team a
nd the many Surveyors.
Jeff Tucker (Right both photos) chair of Maidstone and Mid-Kent Branch and the Guide Committee accepted the award fromJulian Hough, Chair of the Pub Campaigns Committee during the conference. Also in the photographs is Iain Dalgleish, chair of West Kent Branch and Guide Database Officer. In the centre of the picture, left, is Colin Valentine CAMRA National Chairman
In the last month it has been revealed that our new guide has started to make a profit, that means we have raised over £6,000 since the launch in July 2009. Sales are still strong and we will be making sure that the guide is available at all regional CAMRA beer festivals and many pub festivals. we can also reveal that stocks of the guide a getting low and at the recent Lions Sevenoaks Beer Festival we ran out of stocks. If you have not got your copy yet please order yours by post or buy it at the Great British Beer Festival.
The guide has opened up opportunities for us to spread the CAMRA message and some of our best sales have come from book shops and tourist information centres. As a result of the publication of the guide we have been commissioned to write a series of articles in The Vine magazine about pubs in its distribution area. The first three pubs were The Golding Hop, Plaxtol (October), The Bricklayer’s Arms, Chipstead (December) and The Royal Oak, Halstead (January), so lookout for more to come.
• Full colour 176 page pocket sized paperback, packed with useful and interesting information
• Extensive pub details including description, list of facilities, opening hours, real ales, ciders, perries, etc.
• Over 100 colour photos of the best pubs
• 50 pages of related articles illustrated in colour, including walking, cycling, public transport and tourist attractions
• Information on beers, local breweries, ciders and cider makers
• Guide area map and four main town maps
• The first new pub guide to the area in 10 years
Also available by post to:
Gateway Guide, 251A Upper Grosvenor Road,
Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2EJ
Add £1.50 P&P. Cheques payable to “Gateway Guide”
gatewaytokent@dalgleish.org
Elland 1872 Porter Pump Clip
1872 Porter from the Elland Brewery, West Yorkshire, has today been crowned the Supreme Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2010 by a panel of judges at the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester.
The 6.5% abv porter is described in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide as a ‘creamy, full-flavoured porter, with rich liquorice flavours with a hint of chocolate from roast malt, and a soft but satisfying aftertaste of bittersweet roast and malt.’
Graham Donning, National Winter Ales Festival organiser, praised the Champion Winter beer for its quality. He said:
‘A timeless classic well worthy of this accolade. It has won many awards at CAMRA beer festivals in the past, and it’s great to see this small brewer achieving such success. A perfect winter warming remedy to the snowy weather in recent weeks! ‘
Winning today is especially sweet for the brewer after finishing in Silver place overall in the 2009 competition.
Dave Sanders, Head Brewer at Elland, was elated to hear of the brewery’s success. He said:
‘It absolutely brilliant; we came second last year and I am thrilled to finish on top in 2010. We originally started brewing this beer at the West Yorkshire brewery, so there’s quite a history behind this Victorian recipe. ‘
Also in the Overall awards, Silver went to Breconshire’s Ramblers Ruin, whilst the Bronze medal went to Acorn’s Gorlovka Imperial Stout.
A panel of beer writers, members of the licensed trade and CAMRA members judged the competition at the Sheridan Suite, Manchester. The Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition is sponsored by JD Wetherspoon.
Drinkers at the National Winter Ales Festival will now be able to sample the winning brews, as well as a formidable selection of over 200 different beers, including a range of ciders and perries.
Victorious at the Winter Ales Festival today, Elland’s 1872 Porter will now enter into the final of the Champion Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival, Earls Court, London, in August.
National Winter Ales Festival 2010-
Wednesday 20th – Saturday 23rd January 2010, Sheridan Suite, Oldham Road, Manchester, M40 8EA
For more information on the National Winter Ales Festival, visit
Winter beer styles, as taken from CAMRA’s ‘Dictionary of Beer’:
Porter – A dark, slightly sweetish but hoppy ale made with roasted barley; the successor of ‘entire’ and predecessor of stout. Porter originated in London around 1730, and by the end of the 18th century was probably the most popular beer in England.
Stout – One of the classic types of ale, a successor in fashion to ‘porter’. Usually a very dark, heavy, well-hopped bitter ale, with a dry palate, thick creamy, and a good grainy taste.
Old Ale – Now virtually synonymous with ‘winter ale’. Most ‘old ales’ are produced and sold for a limited time in the year, usually between November and the end of February. Usually a rich, dark, high-gravity draught ale of considerable body.
Barley Wine – A strong, rich and sweetish ale, usually over 1060 OG, dark in colour, with high condition and a high hop rate.
National Winter Ales Festival 2010- Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2010- Winners List
Old Ales and Strong Milds category-
Gold- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Silver- Leeds, Midnight Bell (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Beartown, Black Bear (Congleton, Cheshire)
Porters category-
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Sulwath, Black Galloway (Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway)
Bronze- RCH, Old Slug Porter (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset)
Stouts category-
Gold- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)
Silver- Beowulf, Dragon Smoke Stout (Brownhills, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Wapping, Stout (Liverpool, Merseyside)
Barley Wines category-
Gold- Robinsons, Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire)
Silver- Kinver, Over the Edge (Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Otley, O8 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan)
OVERALL result
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Bronze- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)
On Saturday the 15th August we met at The Royal Oak, Tunbridge Wells
to celebrate the launch of the new guide to around 500 pubs in the West and Mid Kent area. Extensive information on all pubs in Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks & Maidstone and all surrounding villages. Around 20 members gathered to take advantage of buying copies of the Guide signed by all three of our Editors. In fine CAMRA tradition we finished 2 of the 4 superb ales on offer. The Darkstar Hophead came in for particular praise and many repeat orders. The Courier covered the launch and followed up with a nice article to match the one that appeared in the Kent Messenger.
West Kent CAMRA have written a guide to all the pubs within our area. This informative guide will cover all pubs within its area not just real ale pubs. It currently has details of nearly 500 pubs, restaurants and hotels, anywhere that has an open to the public bar where a member of the public can buy a drink. It will be printed in full colour and well illustrated. Designed to fit in a pocket it is a handy size for carrying on your visit.
- 65% of Britain’s alcohol drinkers yet to try Britain’s national drink, real ale
- Trying ‘Mild’ could be the perfect introduction to the world of real ale!
- Britain now brews over 200 Milds, double the number in 1999
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is urging all drinkers of mass-produced lager who have always wanted to try real ale in a pub, but were not sure where to start, to give the beer style ‘Mild’ a try in Mild month as an introduction to the world of real ale.
CAMRA’s research shows that 65% of alcohol drinkers have never tried real ale, although it is perceived by many to be Britain’s national drink. This is surprising when you compare this to only 16% of the French nation who state they have not tried their national drink, wine!
In past reports, many non-real ale drinkers have highlighted they would like to try real ale but either pre-conceive it as being ‘too bitter’ or are not sure of where to start. CAMRA believes Mild could be the answer.
Ruth Tyrrell, CAMRA National Beer Styles Coordinator, said:
‘This campaigning month is a perfect opportunity for those that have showed an initial interest in real ale but are not sure where to start, or think all real ale is bitter, to try a pint of Mild.”
Tyrell continued:
‘There are more than 2,500 different varieties of real ale on today’s market that offer a huge variety of flavour. These are categorised into beer styles such as Bitters, Porters, Stouts, Golden Ales, Barley Wines and of course Mild. If a non-real drinker thinks all real beer is bitter then I would encourage them to try a pint of Mild, they will be pleasantly surprised. Mild beer is very tasty and refreshing but unlike bitters, they are usually more malty and sweet. 40% of consumers that try real ale for the first time continue to drink it regularly. Trying Mild could be a great introduction to the superb world of real ale for many consumers across Britain!’
Mild beers have been served in Britain’s historic public houses for centuries, and have had great success in CAMRA beer awards over the last decade with Hobsons Mild (Worcestershire) and Moorhouse’s Black Cat (Lancashire) classed as Supreme Champion Beers of Britain in recent years.
Once classified as an ‘endangered beer style’, there currently more than 200 Mild beers produced in the UK, an upsurge from 1999 when there were only 88 Mild beers being produced.
CAMRA has supplied hundreds of pubs across Britain with promotional packs that include pump-clip crowners to highlight what Milds are on at the bar plus posters and leaflets to help educate more consumers on the beer style Mild.
JD Wetherspoon, which has over 700 pubs across Britain, has announced they will have 4 different Milds available in a number of their outlets during the month, including some additional Milds available from local brewers in selected pubs.
Tyrrell concluded:
‘One of the reasons why National Mild Month is so important is it raises the public profile of innovative UK brewers who devise so many wonderful new recipes and ideas, which I think licensees can draw inspiration from. Mild Month is a great campaign that helps consumers, pubs and the real ale brewing industry.’
A definitive list of Milds brewed in the UK can be viewed at www.camra.org.uk/trymild
To find out more about National Mild Month, the Mild events in your region and Milds to try during May please visit www.camra.org.uk/mild
Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive, said
“It is disappointing that the Chancellor has ignored widespread public concern about the plight of Britain’s pubs and decided to press ahead with an increase which will result in yet more valued community pubs closing down. Well-run community pubs are already struggling as a result of last year’s 18% increase in beer duty and the recession. This further beer duty increase will push more valued pubs over the edge resulting in job losses, reduced Government tax revenue and many more deprived of their favourite local pub.”
“Well-run pubs provide an enjoyable and affordable night out in a safe and supervised environment and this duty increase will simply fuel irresponsible drinking of cheap discount alcohol in people’s homes, public parks and on the streets.”
‘British drinkers are being singled out for the biggest beer tax increases ever imposed.’ (Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive)
- 18% beer tax increase by Government in 2008 has forced publicans to up real ale prices by an inflation-busting 5.5%, new research from CAMRA shows
- Britain’s drinkers have paid over 3 billion pounds in beer excise duty since March 2008 Budget
- 70,000 people sign up to Axe the Beer Tax campaign. 25,000 have contacted their MP to call for a freeze in beer taxation and abandonment of plans for annual above inflation beer tax hikes
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, has spoken out at its distaste for further beer tax increases in this year’s Budget as its board of Directors converged upon one of Britain’s most historic breweries.
On Friday April 17th, CAMRA’s National Executive members gave a rallying call at Harveys brewery
in Lewes, East Sussex, in advance of CAMRA’s national AGM, and Chancellor Alistair Darling’s Budget on April 22nd.
At their annual Conference over one thousand CAMRA members overwhelmingly endorsed a call to freeze excise duties and scrap the beer tax escalator as new research shows the heightening effect taxation is having on beer prices at the bar.
CAMRA’s 2009 Prices Survey shows that-
- The pub price of a pint of real ale has increased by 5.5% since February 2008
- The East Midlands has been hardest hit, with real ale prices increasing by 9.1% since February 2008
- Britain’s independent freehouse pubs are the worst suffering pubs, increasing real ale prices by 6.2% in the last year
Speaking of the new research, Mike Benner, CAMRA Chief Executive, said:
‘Both the publican and the pub-goer are suffering at the hands of disproportionate increases in beer taxation. Beer prices across the board are increasing way above the rate of inflation and the Government must act now to give well-run community pubs a break.’
Benner continues:
‘In addition to the 18% increase in beer tax last year, the Government appear committed to punishing responsible pub-goers with a 2% above inflation rise in beer tax year after year. A decision to abandon this unfair, inflation-busting tax escalator and freeze beer tax are key remedies for preventing what has previously been described as a ‘bloodbath’ of pub closures across the land.’
‘The Axe the Beer Tax – Save the Pub’ Campaign was launched in November 2008 by the British Beer & Pub Association, and CAMRA. For more information, please visit the campaign website at www.axethebeertax.com
- The RPI (Retail Prices Index) shows that in February 2009, inflation levels were at 0%.
Real Ale- Results of CAMRA’s Annual Prices Survey- conducted between January 19th and February 23rd 2009 in a variety of public houses
Feb ’09 Feb ’08 % Change
UK 259 245 5.5%
By Region
Eastern England 272 256 6.2%
East Midlands 261 239 9.1%
London 279 264 5.8%
North 243 230 5.6%
North West 226 215 5.0%
Northern Ireland 276 234 17.7%
Scotland 266 255 4.3%
South East 273 259 5.4%
South West 250 242 3.4%
Wales 229 225 1.8%
West Midlands 239 231 3.2%
Yorkshire 238 232 2.6%