DIGITAL
CAMRA
The On-line version of the Cornwall CAMRA
Branch Newsletter
ONE & ALE
May-June 2004
Cornwall
CAMRA Pub of the Year - 2004 Result: Guess Who?
New
Real Ale Bar for Penzance - Enthusiastic developments at the Union
May
set to be a Mild Month - At least in Blisland!
Signs of Revival at Moribund Brewery......
- New developments at Grampound Road
....
and another Micro to be Launched? - Brewpub dream nears fulfilment
Cornish Brewery News
- Update on the local brewers
Cornish Pub News
- Frequently updated - keep up with the pub changes (if you can)
Pubs Diary
- a service for our publicans
Cornish Ale Guide On Sale
- Local guide to Real Ale in Cornwall
Gary Does It
Again!
| "I have", said
CAMRA Kernow Chairman Rod Davis at the presentation, "a feeling of
déjâ vu". The occasion was the declaration of the
famous Blisland Inn on the edge of Bodmin Moor as branch Pub of the Year
for the third time since 2000.
Combining a branch social trip to the
pub with the presentation of the award to landlord Gary Marshall and his wife
Margaret (pictured, right, on an earlier occasion), around 40 thirsty CAMRA members
enjoyed an afternoon in the sun drinking many of the interesting milds
and other real ales Gary was offering over the bar. |
 |
Not only that. Gary has for some
time now promoted CAMRA's annual 'Make May a Mild Month' campaign in his own
inimitable fashion, allowing his customers to drink their way through some 50
different mild ales during the month, a welcome event in the normally mild
desert that is Cornwall. For this, and his consistent support in many
other ways for the principles fought for and upheld by CAMRA, as well as many
years of support to CAMRA Kernow, he was awarded the rarely-given and coveted
branch Gold Award.
The Blisland Inn first won the branch Pub of the
Year in 2000, famously going on against stiff competition to become South-West
England and then National Pub of the Year against stiff competition from all
over the country. He won the local award again in 2001, although was
pipped at the post by the Fountain Inn at Newbridge and the North Inn, Pendeen
in subsequent years. A vote among branch membership produced a shortlist
of 6 finalists in the county, which were quietly visited by a dedicated team of
travelling inspectors who awarded points for such things as the beer quality,
atmosphere, welcome on arrival, internal décor, mix of clientele, promotion of
CAMRA's values, and overall value for money. And this time the Blisland
Inn came out on top again.
Runner-up this year was the Queen's Arms at
Breage, so further congratulations go to landlord Alec Robertson for his success
there. The other finalists who so nearly made it (in alphabetical not
voting order) were the Blue Anchor, Helston; Driftwood Spars, Trevaunance Cove,
Seven Stars, Stithians; and the Smugglers' Den, Trebellan. They were all
pretty closely scored as you might expect when some of the county's best pubs
are in the final line-up. So, congratulations to them for getting so
close, commiserations for not actually winning, and - keep up the good work,
landlords and landladies all. It might be your lucky year next time.
New Real Ale Bar for Penzance
The old Theatre Bar at the back of the Union
Hotel in Chapel Street, Penzance has been redecorated and relaunched as the
town's latest 'must visit' real ale venue.
| Members of
CAMRA Kernow attending the official opening of the revamped bar on
20 May were delighted to find no fewer than 8 real ales on show, two of
them delivered by handpump but the rest by gravity from a wooden
stillage installed by Skinner's Brewery. There was perhaps
inevitably a strong showing of their brews, including a celebration ale
called D-Day 60, Keel Over, and a house beer for the bar called Kiss me
Hardy (the Union Hotel has a naval theme based around Lord
Nelson). Sharp's Doom Bar was also available, as was Ring O'Bells
new charity-supporting beer One & All.
CAMRA member Steve Willmott chats to
landlady Joan (right). The wooden stillage is clearly visible. |
 |
The room is comfortably carpeted and furnished,
and the beautifully made old wooden bar top presents an unusual concave front to
the customers. Landlady Joan, who has been at the Union for some years
now, said: "I want this to become a favourite watering hole for lovers of
good real ale. We are opening at present only from Monday to Saturday in
the evenings, but we plan to be flexible and customer-driven. If people
want us to open Sunday lunchtimes, say, or if they want particular ales to be
supplied, we will try to meet their requirements. It's early days yet, but
we'll see how things work out as we go along". Head barman and cellar
manager Alan added, "We have enough cellar and storage space to ensure the
beer is kept long enough to be ready to sell in its best condition. We're
going to charge the same for a pint of whatever ales are on offer - £2.20 - so
you'll be winning when we have some of the stronger ones in. Of course,
the front bar of the Union will go on as before, offering Bass on handpump for
the regulars who drink it, as well as something else from Skinners or maybe
another local brewery".
The launch was also attended by Steve Skinner
himself and Clive Robertson, also from the brewery, as well as the town Mayor
and other dignitaries from the town of Penzance.
A Mild
May in Blisland
As in previous years, Gary Marshall of the
Blisland Inn is holding a May Month of Mild over the next few weeks. More
ambitious than ever, Gary is planning to get through around 50 different mild
ales, making the Blisland a Mecca for Cornish lovers of the style.
Mild is very hard to find in Cornwall as a
rule, with only a handful being produced regularly within the county: the
splendid and under-promoted Black Prince from St. Austell, and the equally
splendid 4K Mild from Keltek, have to be hunted down if you want to try them -
Cornwall is not traditionally a mild-drinking county, except perhaps for the
china clay country around St. Austell.
The theme got off to a fine start at the
beginning of the month, with the first four ales appearing quickly on the
handpumps. Rex Valley DSM, brewed especially for the Devon County Show by
Exe Valley Brewery, was among them. Unquestionably a mild to the taste, it
is nevertheless a red-coloured brew, disproving the commonly-held belief that
milds always have to be black in appearance. The others were Gale's
Festival Mild, Doghouse Staffi Stout, and Maggs Magnificent Mild from West
Berkshire Brewery. Gary plans to have around 5 milds available at any one
time.
Cornish
Brewery Shows Signs of Revival
Hot on the heels of the recent,
seemingly-terminal, closure of the Redruth Brewery, comes news that as part of
the fall-out two former employees have been taken on by the Wooden Hand Brewery
to revitalise an operation that has been somewhat sporadic in recent times.
Sited in a small industrial unit at Grampound
Road, the brewery uses what was salvaged from the former Ventonwyn Brewery,
forced to close operations three years ago when the backers pulled their money
out. New owner Rolf Munding took on CAMRA member and brewer Jack Wright to
brew a few trial recipes last year under the name of Wooden Hand Brewery, but
with few outlets and no sales force the brewery's output never seemed to reach
critical mass, and its one beer, a bitter at 4.0% abv, was rarely found.
Losing a local brewery is never a welcome event,
but at least it seems we may gain another to compensate. CAMRA
Kernow wishes Kevin and Mel good fortune at Grampound Road, and we look forward
to their first brew.
Another
Micro-Brewery to be Launched?
July
looks like seeing the start of operations for another small brewery, in the shed
at the back of the GBG-listed Seven Stars Inn in Stithians.
Landlord
Phil Preen, and stone carver, part-time barman and amateur brewer Peter Martin,
have long talked about brewing at the pub. Peter, whose real brewing forte
is in dark stouts and porters, has produced many trial brews at his home near
Four Lanes, often testing them on locals in the pub - not difficult when you
give it away free! Now he has declared himself satisfied (well, as
satisfied as any brewer ever will be!) with some of his recipes, and the bothy
at the back of the pub is now being worked upon to produce a secure enclosed and
sterile room to instal the equipment.
(Brewhouse, right, in its partly-completed state). |
 |
To
be called the Bathtub Brewery, it will have an extremely modest capacity to
start with of just 50 litres, or about 11 gallons. Launch date is planned
to coincide with the pub's mini beer festival timed for the weekend before
Stithians show day, 9-12 July 2004. It is hoped to have two of the new
brews available, a stout at around 5.5% and a lower gravity bitter if the
landlord can persuade him to brew one!
Cornish
Brewery News
Since
being taken over last summer, Sharp's Brewery has been going all
out to expand its operation both within the county and beyond. Sales have
gone up 30% during the recent quarter of the year compared with the same period
last year, presumably as a result of their new sales team operating all over the
south-west, as far up as Swindon so far. The brewery is installing
no less than 6 new fermenters (ready by May, they say), and plan to have doubled
plant capacity to 100 barrels by this time next year.
Skinner's
Brewery in Truro have launched another special brew, this time for
the Dehwelans ('homecoming') Festival of Cornwall, to be held in Newquay 28
April to 3 May. At a ceremonial 'mash-in' at the brewery, the
new brew was blessed by Bishop Bill of Truro (who enjoys a pint) and Cornwall's
Grand Bard, Rod Lyon. Meanwhile, the new shop, though
small, offers an impressive range of brewery merchandise and all of Skinner's
bottled beer range, as well as an interesting selection of bottle-conditioned
beers from other national and foreign breweries. The shop opens Monday to
Saturday, 10.00 to 17.30. Expansion plans have led to the
purchase of two more fermenters to instal in the brewhouse. This will be
the first stage in a move into keg lager, already available in cask form as
Cornish Storm, but the plant looks likely to handle a
keg version of Pennycomequick Stout as well, to rival Guinness in some of the
local pubs.
St.
Austell Brewery are reporting great success in their national marketing
of Tribute and HSD, which are now turning up all over the country. Head
brewer Roger Ryman said, "I am delighted that it seems so popular out
there. My main concern is that it is still served in proper condition and
tastes as good as it does in Cornwall. If CAMRA members can feed back any
information on their travels, I'd be very grateful". There is a reverse flow as well: the brewery are
offering their free trade customers real ales from a monthly guest list, offering brews from
such as Hall & Woodhouse, Robinson's, Jennings and
Elgood's breweries.
The
Driftwood Spars Brewery recently stopped dry-hopping its Cuckoo Ale,
which has reportedly improved the flavour. Keltek Brewery continues to be very
busy, selling everything it can brew as well as being kept busy bottling the Spingo range for the Blue
Anchor in Helston and other brewers in the county
and beyond. Keltek have also initiated a serious expansion on their
Lostwithiel site, with new fermenters going in to double their brewing
capacity. Blackawton Brewery in Saltash is reported again to
be on the market. And last but not least, Doghouse Brewery report brisk
sales of Staffi Stout, now competing well with Guinness since the prices of
the latter in Cornwall started to reach near rip-off levels.
Cornish
Pub News
West Cornwall
The King's
Head at Ruanlanihorne on the Roseland peninsula has now changed
hands It has long sold a house
beer brewed by Skinner's, and one or two guest ales. Incoming licensees
Andrew and Niki Law are old friends of Steve Skinner, so it looks as though the
tradition of serving that brewer's ales will continue. The pub was closed
for a while for redecorating and tidying up, and it finally reopened in the
middle of April. The couple have been in the hotel and catering business
for some years, and Andrew is a trained chef so he has revamped the menu at the
pub to offer 'good, whole-hearted meals' using local produce.
Shorts.......
The Mexico Inn at Long Rock near
Penzance has finally been sold, to a one-time manager of the Godolphin Hotel in
nearby Marazion, Martin Britten. Real ales, from Skinner's and Sharp's
breweries, are still available and reportedly in good condition...... New landlord Simon Guthrie
has been busy at the drinkers' pub, the Miners'
Arms, in St. Just in Penwith. This little free house on the
road leading north out of St. Just is easily missed, as no fewer than 4 other
pubs are clustered round the tiny village square clamouring for attention.
One of them, the Wellington Hotel, will also probably be sold at the end of its
current lease within the next year or so.... A surprise locally is the
appearance of Trickie Dicky's of
Tolgus Mount near Redruth on the market. Owner and landlord Richard
Brighton has decided to retire, and the pub, together with the restaurant, lodge
and conference centre, has been sold to a local couple for around £2M. Made from a
converted forge and other buildings associated with the mining industry, it has
long been a real ale oasis in the Redruth area where until fairly recently the
good stuff was hard to find. The new incumbents reportedly don't want to
change anything, at least in the short term. Well, we shall see.....
One of the oldest pubs in Penzance, the 13th century Turk's
Head in Chapel Street, has been sold. William and Veronica Morris supplied several real ales for a number of
years, albeit featuring on the Pubmaster approved list which largely
excludes local brews. It looks like the incoming team, headed by Jonathan
and Helen Gibbard, will be very much food-orientated. They already run the
Roseland Inn at Philleigh and the Victory at St. Mawes, both 'foodie' pubs.... The Gurnard's
Head Hotel, at Treen on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula,
is changing hands shortly. It has been bought by a small, Cornwall-based pub
company. The main obvious change is that it now opens all day on weekdays
during the winter months, although they 'might still close for an hour or two in the
afternoon if quiet'. The real ale continues to be one of Skinner's,
normally Cornish Knocker..... Meanwhile, the Top
House at The Lizard remains on the market, stubbornly refusing to
move after several months on the for sale lists....
Mid-Cornwall
Shorts.......
Two new developments in St. Agnes: the lease of the historic Railway
Inn, a former Devenish pub now part of the Punch group, has been
sold to a newcomer with no previous experience. Dave Elford, the outgoing
landlord, has been at the pub for many years and did his best to ensure the
availability of one or two interesting guest ales. More worryingly, since
time immemorial it has had a superb if eccentric collection of shoes adorning
its walls - these are reported to be disappearing..... In Truro, the City
Inn, self-styled for years as 'Truro's Real Ale Oasis' but
disastrously sold in December, has undergone another change of landlord
already. Although ownership of the lease remains the same, the pub is now being
run by the previous landlord's head barman Andy Tyler who knows a thing or two
about ale, so things are definitely looking up again (at least Skinner's ales
have returned to the bar)...... Staying in
Truro, the White Hart (also known as
the Crab & Ale House for some reason) has appeared in the 'For Sale' lists,
a snip at £100,000 for the lease.....
The Rock Inn at Roche is also on the
market, at an asking price of £150,000 for the lease, not a lot considering
the size of the place (the restaurant can handle 120+ people alone)... In
Newquay, Skinner's Ale House is
still for sale - as a leasehold - for £200,000. As reported earlier, Steve
Skinner is raising the money from the sale of his two pubs to invest in
expansion of his brewery. The other, the Foxes Revenge
at Summercourt, has already been sold to local chef Kevin Viner, who promptly
renamed it Viners. Probably no
longer a pub, then.....
East Cornwall
Awaiting
new reports.
North Cornwall
Shorts.......
The Bay View Inn at Widemouth Bay near Bude
is under new management and the landlord is very keen to keep the pub's name
for real ale. Locals report the beer quality as excellent.
(Sources: CAMRA members, Packet Newspapers, the West Briton and allied
publications,
pub gossip, Scilly locals and Lizard's beer-stained notebook). And One
& Ale!
Pubs
Diary
Welcome to our feature, the
Cornish Pubs Diary. The idea is that anything to do with the promotion
of real ale by our local landlords will warrant an entry here. Events will
mostly take the form of beer festivals no doubt, but with a growing fund of
experience in this field and their growing popularity, we feel that some central
listing is useful - which also helps landlords to avoid clashes! Do let us know
of any planned real ale events at your local boozer. For further details of pub
festivals, go to our beer festival page.
| Inclusive Dates |
Venue |
Event |
| 11-13 Jun |
Red Lion, Newquay |
Mini beer festival, proceeds in
aid of charity (cancer research/RNLI). Live music Fri/Sat eve, food all
day, also footie Sat |
| 18-20 Jun |
Old Court House, Mawgan |
Mini beer festival |
| 9-12 Jul |
Seven Stars, Stithians |
Mini beer festival and
micro-brewery launch (Stithians Show day 12 July) |
| (all events subject to confirmation -
check if in doubt) |
Cornish
Ale Guide On Sale
This
is the definitive guide to real ale in Cornwall - and it is on sale now, with
recent updates included.
Members
of Cornwall CAMRA spent no less than 12 months researching every one (we hope)
of the county's pubs, sampling the ale, and writing about it in order to bring
you the most comprehensive guide to date. Every known real ale pub has been
listed in standard Good Beer Guide format, and the ones which don't have any
also get a mention, so that you don't have to waste time going through the door
(and in the hope that they may change their policy in future). AND we are
not standing still. Research is continuous, so every so often we can bring
the listings up to date.
Because
we are such a large county, the Guide has been divided into 5 geographical areas
for convenience - north, east, mid-Cornwall, west, and Scilly. This keeps nearby
pubs grouped together in the book and should make it easier to refer to. Street
maps are provided for the bigger towns, and all of Cornwall's 13 breweries -
including the newest on the Isles of Scilly - are listed with a description of
the beers they produce.
Due
to the lack of public transport in some areas, willing driving partners and the
foot & mouth epidemic (one of our busiest researchers is a ministry vet!),
as well as everyone being volunteers with other jobs to do, it took us longer
than anticipated to get the thing published. However, the means are now in place
to update it easily, and we are now able quickly to produce updated editions
from time to time.
Want
a copy? Of course you do. It is available by post to UK CAMRA members for £5.00
including the stamp (quote your membership number) or £5.66 to non-CAMRA
members. Send cheques (made payable to Cornwall CAMRA) to editor Steve Willmott -
see Contacts list for address details. Or we'll take
€10.
In
common with the other branches of CAMRA, the Cornwall branch produces its
own hard-copy newsletter, One & Ale.
It appears about 5 times a year, at slightly irregular intervals because it may
be timed to coincide with the major events such as the local beer festivals. It
is aimed both at the branch membership, who are widely scattered around the
county and each get a copy through the post, and non-members who may pick it up
to read in selected pubs.
One
& Ale contains news of breweries, brews and pubs in the
county, as well as views and reports of pub crawls and the like written by the
branch members. As a free publication, its only source of funding is its
advertising income, which is of course to an extent dependent on how interesting
the contents are. We are always looking for reports or articles from CAMRA
members, and new contributors are especially welcome. Copy should be submitted
to Steve Willmott, who is also the Editor and Distribution Manager (see Contacts
page). If it is a word processor file and sent on a floppy disk, it's even more
welcome!
Some
earlier
editions of One & Ale On-line can be seen in our archive. Just
click on the one you want to see:
January-February 2004
March-April 2004
The
views expressed in these pages are of course those of the authors, and not
necessarily of CAMRA Ltd or the Cornwall Branch of CAMRA.