More Rail Ale Trails for
Cornwall - Cash announced for new initiativeDIGITAL
CAMRA
The On-line version of the Cornwall CAMRA
Branch Newsletter
ONE & ALE
November-December 2004
More Rail Ale Trails for
Cornwall - Cash announced for new initiative
Seven
New Brews From St. Austell - For the Celtic Beer Festival, of course!
Double
Celebration at the Blisland Inn - 10 years, 2000 ales
Falmouth Beerfest Hit by Hurricane - Of punters, that is!
Cornish Beer Wins Accolades at Falmouth - Champion Best Bitter award comes home
Cornish Pubs Flooded Again - But the drinking carries on
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
More Rail Ale Trails for Cornwall
| The Devon
& Cornwall Rail Partnership, of which Wessex Trains is a member, has
announced the granting of funds to develop more Rail Ale Trails to
supplement the four which have already been developed (sample leaflets
pictured, right).
The new trails will lie along the Par to Newquay and St. Erth to St. Ives branches, and feature real ale pubs near the railway stations. Apart from selling draught beer, the pubs have to be attractive to a cross-section of the community so the beers may not necessarily appeal to the beer 'anorak', but as an initiative to get people on to trains and in the pubs (both of which need more business), this approach appears to be enjoying some success. Our roving bar-fly Lizard has been told of large groups of people appearing with their leaflets and tickets - 23 local people on the Falmouth line, and a party of around 40 from Exeter trailing around the pubs of Looe recently. |
 |
As reported in earlier editions of Digital CAMRA, the idea is that you go into the pubs waving your (valid) rail ticket, and on buying a pint of real ale you can have a stamp in your trail leaflet. Complete the trail, and you get a souvenir tee-shirt, a sticker and a badge - and maybe a pint mug as well. The Partnership's Richard Burningham said, "We are hoping to introduce a monogrammed pint mug as an additional prize, and maybe a special version for those energetic souls who manage to complete all of our trails in Cornwall and Devon".
Surveying of the pubs along the new Trails begins in earnest in the new year, with the Cornwall CAMRA branch having an input on which pubs to include (or not - Wessex Trains obviously will want its passengers to enjoy the experience). The launch dates should be some time in the spring of 2005.
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Seven New Brews for Celtic Beerfest
The Celtic Beer Festival was held on Saturday 4 December, as ever in the old wine store and bonded store below the brewery. About 120 real ales were on offer, nearly all of them from the Celtic nations, although with a few guest appearances from other family brewers such as Batham's and Jennings, for example. Real cider was also represented, and a couple of international brews, too (from Belgium, Germany and California). And again as ever the festival was taken by storm, with town locals, publicans, CAMRA members and many others converging on the event from all over the county, and from outside it too.
St. Austell Brewery's Head Brewer, Roger Ryman, had been busy in the back room in the run-up to the Festival - experimenting on his 2-barrel micro plant, he came up with no fewer than seven special brews to mark the occasion, and in a wide variety of styles and strengths.
At the lighter, lower end of the scale came a hoppy, pale golden bitter called Liquid Sunshine, a refreshing hoppy drink with a strength of 3.8% abv. This beer was made with a mixture of three different hop varieties, Goldings, Mount Hood and Cluster, the last two being American in origin.
Admiral's Ale, at 5.0%, had already made a guest appearance at CAMRA's Falmouth beer festival and was an instant hit, quickly selling out as well as being voted a runner-up in the Premium Ale class in the blind tasting competition. This one is set to reappear next year, probably in bottled form, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. Interestingly, apart from the hops (Styrian Goldings and Cascade), this is as Cornish an ale as you can get, being brewed with locally malted barley which was grown in Cornwall. The resulting malt, made to the brewer's specification, is called Cornish Gold and was the only malt type used in the brew. The result is a bronze-coloured beer whose roasty, malty flavour is nicely balanced by the fresh hop mixture to give a complex and sophisticated result. Bound to be a winner!
Getting into the more unusual part of the brewing spectrum, next up was Proper Job, an IPA "brewed as it would have been in the 19th century", says Roger. It was strong (5.5%abv), bitter, and hoppy, as an IPA should be but rarely is these days. And no wonder - it uses a complex blend of 6 or 7 different hop varieties! "Everything we use at St. Austell", adds Roger.
Next was a delicious black beer called Chocobloc Stout, looking for all the world like Guinness in the glass but with one vital difference - it both smelt and tasted of something. Okay, two vital differences - it was a real ale as well. The aroma of roasted malt and cocoa was most inviting, while the palate was smooth and creamy. Then the chocolate came through. This is again to be expected once you know that no less than 2kg of dark chocolate were thrown into the brew before fermentation. The stout used a single English hop variety, this time Fuggles.
Now take a bow, Winter Warmer. An old St. Austell favourite for the festive season, it is only found in a few selected outlets where the trade has pre-ordered it. A Christmas pudding brew made to a traditional recipe, it demands some respect at 6.0%, and is described as being reminiscent of toffee and fruit cake in its aroma. It is a rich tawny brown in colour.
Finally, a beefed-up version of Tribute, which at 5.2% was called Tribute Extra, was matured for some weeks in a Bourbon cask, while an old festival favourite, Smugglers' Ale and at 8.5% the strongest brew, matured in a wooden rum barrel.
It just shows what can be done by a large brewery when the Head Brewer is given his head. Roll on the next Celtic!
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The weekend of the latest Cornwall CAMRA beer festival in Falmouth, the branch's flagship festival, was noted for the atrocious weather, and the CAMRA team were wondering, considering the rather inconvenient location of the Princess Pavilion, whether they would be left staring at each other while the punters stayed away.
In the event, they needn't have worried. In fact, the worries were of a rather different sort when the usually-quiet Friday afternoon became very busy quite early on, and stayed busy. Not only that, but the visitors were laying into the 105 different beers with gusto, so much so that by the end of a hectic day no fewer than 15 nine-gallon casks were already empty, and many of the others had well-lowered levels of beer in them. Past experience has been that the first empty casks appeared only on the Saturday afternoon.
Saturday, if it were possible, was even more manic. The festival was inundated with eager real ale (and cider) drinkers, so much so that the last drop from the last cask went at 21.13 that evening. With all the glasses including emergency supplies sold out, they still came, and many seemed content to try the bottled beers that were on offer using recycled or borrowed glasses from the Pavilion bar.
'Unbelievable', said Festival Bar Manager, Sue Hook (well, the words she actually used meant that), "we actually had more beer this year and still ran out early". In fact, the 105 different ales were supplemented by around 15 'spares' and they all went as well.
Inevitably, some people were disappointed that they turned up late on Saturday (in some cases unavoidably), to find all the beer and glasses gone, or nearly so. "Of course, from our point of view it was great to have a sell-out event, and we were amazed at the sheer speed with which the beer was drunk this year" said CAMRA Kernow's Press Officer Fran Brennan. "We got the word out as soon as we could, with local radio stations broadcasting alerts that we'd run out of beer. But to those who made the journey only to find themselves out of luck, we do offer our sincerest apologies". Branch Chairman Rod Davis added: "I'll drink to that. I felt sorry for those who were disappointed, but you have to remember that we are not like a pub in one respect at least - they can open again next day and carry on selling the stock. We have to sell out or find ourselves with the painful task of pouring good beer down the drain. The lesson is, to get to the festival early rather than late if you possibly can".
It appears that part of the increase in numbers at least was due to good support from the new university campus at Tremough near Penryn. With almost 500 students, the attraction of a beer festival nearby was going to be obvious. And with an ultimate projected population of around 10,000 students, festival planners are going to have to take the potentially huge increase in numbers into account as the capacity of the Princess Pavilion could be sorely tested. And as Festival Chairman Gerry Wills noted, "It was great to see so many new young people enjoying themselves immensely at our festival. We always welcome these younger folk, as one day they will form the next generation of standard bearers for CAMRA and its guiding principles - the preservation of real ale as a beer style, and the breweries and pubs that sell it".
Next year's Falmouth festival will take place 21-23 October 2005, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
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Cornish Beer Triumphs in Blind Tasting at Falmouth
There were delighted smiles all round from the brewery staff at the festival when St. Austell's popular best bitter Tribute was declared in a blind tasting to be the Champion Best Bitter of the festival. Not only that, they came top of the vote above some 40 Cornwall-brewed beers as Tribute was also declared Supreme Champion Cornish ale of the festival.
A total of 105 different beers were sampled by a panel of independent tasters who had no idea what they were being given, apart from the beer style or class. St. Austell's Head Brewer, Roger Ryman, said, "I coulkdn't be more delighted and I'm very, very proud to be able to accept these awards for the brewery. This sort of thing means so much to us", he went on, "and shows us that we are getting it right. We are trying to sell Tribute nationally now, and this will show people in distant corners of the country what Cornish beers are capable of doing". The brewery also had a couple of near misses in the other categories, with their superb Black Prince coming a close second in the dark beers competition, and a 5%abv experimental brew called Admiral's Ale also a runner-up in the group of Premium Bitters.
The full results of the competition are as follows:
SUPREME CHAMPION CORNISH BEER:
St. Austell Tribute
SUPREME CHAMPION BEER OF THE FESTIVAL:
Gold: Osset Excelsior
Silver: Coachhouse Brewery Gunpowder Mild
Bronze: Harviestoun Schiehallion
SESSION BITTERS (Up to 4.0% abv):
1st: Cotleigh Tawny
2nd: Tring Brewery Side Pocket for a Toad
BEST BITTERS (4.1-4.4% abv):
1st: St. Austell Tribute
2nd: Clearwater Brewery Cavalier
PREMIUM BITTERS (4.5% abv and over):
1st: Ossett Excelsior
2nd: Skinner's Cornish Knocker
DARK ALES (MILDS, STOUTS, PORTERS):
1st: Coach House Brewery Gunpowder Mild
2nd: St. Austell Black Prince
SPECIALITY BEERS (WHEAT BEERS, LAGERS, SPICED
BEERS etc.):
1st: Harviestoun Schiehallion
2nd: Wheal Ale Old Speckled Parrot
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More Celebrations at the Blisland Inn
| Renowned landlord Gary Marshall of the Blisland Inn held a double celebration on 25 November, when he reached the tenth anniversary of his taking over the pub together with his wife Margaret - and also notched up his 2000th different real ale. |  |
A large number of locals - and CAMRA members - turned out to enjoy the celebrations, which despite falling on a Thursday evening were no less lively for that. The special brew was Dew Meele, made specially for the occasion by the local Keltek Brewery of Lostwithiel, and at 4.0%abv turned out to be eminently quaffable - it soon disappeared. A malty brew, CAMRA members felt they could discern spice coming through but were unable to decide whether it was cinnamon or ginger - so much for the tasting panel! Proceedings were enlivened by the presence of local entertainer Pat Ludford, the Irishman from Redruth, whose special mix of Celtic songs and risque jokes helped to keep the beer flowing. The evening was further enhanced by, of course, Cornish pasties.
Voted recently Cornwall CAMRA's Pub of the Year for the third time since 2000, Gary has reached this phenomenal number of ales by his passion for the subject - he has tried every one of them - and through his attention to detail which ensures his beers are always in good shape. The pub's fame and a pricing policy which ensures at one least cheap pint over the bar means that his beers rarely hang around long enough to go stale. If you do the sums, Gary has averaged between 2 and 3 new beers each week over the 10 years. This has been achieved because he is always on the lookout for new brews from both established and new breweries, and Gary's extensive contacts within the trade help him to obtain beers that most other licensees don't even know exist.
And Dew Meele? Cornish for 'two thousand'.
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For the second time in less than three months, some Cornish pubs were hit by flooding as storms combined with spring tides lashed the south coast at the end of October. While Boscastle's August downpour is still seriously affecting the drinking scene in that town (the Wellington Hotel is not expected to reopen until next Easter) their southern colleagues at least did not suffer any lasting structural damage.
Penzance sea front took the full force of the south-easterly gales and became flooded with much seaweed lying about after the event. The bottom of Alexandra Road did not escape, which meant that water was lapping round the front door and garden of the Alexandra Inn, just a few metres off the Promenade. Determined locals were not to be put off, though. They were able to approach from the higher end of the road as far as the garden wall, which they climbed and walked along the top by the side of the pub's garden. There they were met by landlady Rosemary Featherstone, who barefoot paddled her way to the side door giving her customers a piggy-back to keep their feet dry. Landlord Peter was of course hard at work inside pulling the pints. Dirty job, but somebody has to do it. As far as damage is concerned, they were fairly lucky, as only a metre or so of carpet along one wall took any water, and they were able to swab it away pretty quickly.
Not so lucky was the Seven Stars at Flushing, further along the coast opposite Penryn. Over a metre of water flooded the area beside the river, and the pub cellar was quickly flooded, ruining freezers and of course the carpets in the bar. Empty casks were also taken by the tide and floated down the street. Locals again rallied, though, and drinking carried on by candlelight, there being no power by this stage.
Across the river at Penryn, the Famous Barrel at the bottom of this hilly town was hit from both sides; as rainwater flooded down the hill at the front, the tide came in through the back. Sandbags were to hand though, and helped to slow the flow although some water inevitably got in and caused some damage. Landlady Angela Parfitt's comment was short and to the point. "It stinks", she said.
Perhaps the real surprise was the Norway Inn on the lowest-lying point of the A39 Falmouth-Truro road, beside the River Kennal. Prone to flood at such times, the pub staff were poised with sandbags to stem the all-too-familiar flow through the doors. But it didn't happen, although the main road at nearby Perranarworthal did sustain flooding for a time. "We were very lucky, to be honest", commented Assistant Manager James McLennan. "Not a drop got through".
| Top of Page | Brewery News |
The
newly-revivified Wooden Hand Brewery at Grampound Road goes from
strength to strength, recently adding a third beer to their portfolio.
Called Black Pearl, it is not a stout but a dark brown bitter with a strength of
4.0%abv, and is said to be a strongly malty beer with an underlying hop flavour.
It will be officially launched at the |Falmouth Beer Festival 22-24 October, and
is seen as a challenge to the likes of Doom Bar and Betty Stogs. The other
two beers produced by ex-Redruth Brewery employees Kevin Frantham and Mel Hill
are Cornish Mutiny (4.8%abv, their first brew), and Smugglers' Gold, a lighter
beer at 3.6%abv that has sold well in spite of the limited summer weather!
The brewery's premises, the original Ventonwyn Brewery site, was too cramped for
everything that Kev and Mel want to do, so they have acquired another industrial
unit close by where they can store the beer for maturing.
Meanwhile,
on the islands, Mark Praeger of Ales of Scilly Brewery has
produced another new brew, coinciding with the autumn surge in business when the
islands are invaded by bird-watchers, or 'twitchers'. Last October saw the
bird-men almost drink the islands dry, so Mark thought a new brew for this
season would be a good idea. In somewhat of a departure for the brewery,
the beer is black as Guinness and named Old Bustard. It is reported to
have a sweet edge to it, and has a strength of 4.2%. It will be available
at the forthcoming beer festival in Falmouth, 22-24 October.
Sharp's Brewery has been going all
out recently 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 has installed 6 new fermenters, and plan to have doubled
plant capacity to 100 barrels by this time next year with further work planned
for the winter months.
Skinner's
Brewery in Truro have once again brewed their seasonal Green Hop,
which can only be made at harvest time since, as its name implies, the hops used
are 'green' or fresh, rather than in their usual dry form. The beer is
available for a limited time in selected outlets. They are also brewing Pennycomequick Stout again, which is
now available in selected pubs. They have recently launched more 'special' brews to celebrate
events in the county, among them a D-Day anniversary special called D-Day 60,
and, it is understood, one for Remembrance Day to be available in the Royal
British Legion's bars. 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 occasionally in cask form as
Cornish Storm, but the plant looks likely to handle a
keg version of Pennycomequick Stout as well, hopefully to rival Guinness in some of the
local pubs.
St.
Austell Brewery have sent their head brewer Roger Ryman across to
the US to investigate the hop harvest and purchase some of the best, such as the
aromatic Mount Hood variety. Meanwhile, Admiral's Ale is being brewed
again after a long period of absence; the plan is to sell it in bottled form
next year. Its strength is 5.0%abv.
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 installed to increase their brewing
capacity to a massive 20 barrels from two and a half. Not all of this will
be used immediately however, which will allow some capacity for experimental
brewing. Blackawton Brewery in Saltash is reported
to have been sold, with the new owner continuing production of the beers as
before. 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. There is also
good demand for Dingo Lager since its success in winning the 'Punters' Pint'
vote at CAMRA's St. Ives beer festival in June; it has been tweaked down
slightly and now sits at a round 5.0%abv. And - at last - a name has been
decided for the long-awaited brew using the new Susan hops. It will
probably be available as an autumn seasonal ale, and is called Snoozy
Suzy. Its strength is 4.3%abv.
In
Stithians, the newly-installed Bathtub Brewery is at last near to
brewing its first batch on site. Some experimental brews have already
appeared over the bar in the village pub, the latest being a bitter called Star
Light (4.2%abv). Shades of Watney's! Only in name, though -
Bathtub's version had both taste and alcohol, unlike its namesake of the
'sixties. The plan is to concentrate on two beers, probably brewing them
alternately for sale in the Seven Stars Inn. Latest estimate for first
appearance is during November.
| Top of Page | Pub News |
West Cornwall
For four long years the Good Beer Guide listed Star Inn at Crowlas has been preparing for the day when it would be able to supplement an ever-varying range of real ales with a bit of solid sustenance for its beer-loving customers. Now, at long last it has happened, with the newly-refurbished kitchen going 'live' on 17 November to offer an excellent selection of bar food to go with the drink. Licensees Peter Elvin and Tracey Cornelius are doing the catering for the moment 'until the food side picks up', says Peter, when extra staff may be taken on. The refit job may have been slow but it has been very thorough, Peter having done the bulk of the work himself. An area of the single large bar room has been set aside for eating, and food is going to be available, at least for the time being, between 1200 and 1800 daily except Tuesdays. If demand warrants it, Peter is willing to be flexible and run on a bit later at the weekends. Though he might find that sales of his customers' staple diet of peanuts and crisps take a hit as a result!
In Falmouth, the long-running saga of the Admiral Nelson (or Dock & Railway, via the Riviera Hotel depending on your preference and age), rumbles on. Following unsuccessful attempts by local residents, Cornwall CAMRA and Carrick District Council to save the historic pub, it was finally closed at the end of September to allow the developer who bought it to demolish all but the frontage and build 'luxury apartments'. The irony has not been lost on locals that the pub has been closed down just a year before the town's big celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Admiral Horatio Nelson's victory at the battle of Trafalgar, and it could have been at centre stage during the proceedings. However, there is a slim chance that the situation might yet be saved. Our lounging reporter Lizard's ears started flapping at bar-corner reports that the developer has pulled out of the deal, and there are moves to try to reopen it as a pub again. The truth of this will no doubt surface in due course - we'll let you know if the corpse of this grand old building has new life breathed into it. Late news - the pub has at least realised a change of use - it is now occupied by a group of squatters, homeless people who say they have nowhere to go and it's a shame the old pub is left empty and apparently rotting. Local residents are naturally unhappy, and a court hearing was held in Truro to try to obtain an eviction order - but the developers never turned up, apparently claiming that the 'legal process will take some time to prepare'. Not much sympathy in drinking quarters, who say it's the council's own fault for allowing the planning permission to be granted for redevelopment of what could have been a perfectly viable pub given the will and the right pair of hands in charge.
Shorts....... The lease of the Red Lion in Redruth's town centre has been sold, reports agents Miller Commercial. The pub went for the asking price of £75000 on a 3-year secure lease, taken by a local couple who say they want to develop the local trade. The Red Lion has long served real ale from Sharp's or Skinner's, let's hope the interest is maintained.... Long-serving landlord Mike Mildren of the Fisherman's Arms in Newlyn has given notice to St. Austell Brewery that he wants to retire after some 25 years, and hopes to leave for a quieter life in February, or at least by the spring....... The Union Hotel in Penzance is on the market. Once famous for its draught Bass, it refurbished its back room, the old Theatre Bar, last spring and relaunched it as a 'prime real ale venue' for the town (see report, May-June Digital CAMRA). However, reports of restricted opening times and sporadically available ale (of sometimes dubious quality) cannot have helped the hotel's continuing success. The asking price for the freehold is upwards of £880.000..... The new licensee at the Star Inn in St. Just is planning some structural changes, in spite of pledges to 'keep the pub exactly as it was' before previous landlord Peter Angwin's death last summer. It seems the gravity stillage is out, at least for the moment, and some work will be done on the bar structure. Admittedly the fabric of the pub needs some attention and perhaps now is the appropriate time to make necessary alterations, but it is hoped that the essential character of this ancient old village boozer will be preserved..... In Helston, the famous old Blue Anchor has found since it started providing meals that demand has outstripped capacity, so an upstairs room is being converted into a restaurant. This will take pressure off the tiny family room, which currently functions as the eaterie. Planned opening date is April 2005..... In Penryn, it looks as if grant money is being awarded to help refurbish the frontage of the King's Head. This fine old building, dating at least from 1489, has been sadly neglected by its current owners, Countryman Inns, and is badly in need of a facelift as well as revival of the spacious upstairs accomodation, long since closed - especially relevant with current expansion of the new university campus nearby..... The New Inn at Wendron has been reported as in trouble again and is on the market, since the landlord suffered a stroke during the summer. This free house, which for some time has offered at least three decent real ales, has suffered several landlord changes in recent years, so making only sporadic appearances in the Good Beer Guide. It appears in the new 2005 edition, so the local CAMRA branch have decided to have it removed through an amendment..... The prominent Plume of Feathers, by the A30 slip road at Scorrier and somewhat isolated by the surrounding road network, is up for sale again. Its recent real ale career has been something of a roller-coaster and has attracted only sporadic interest from CAMRA, but we remain hopeful. The Punch Taverns lease is going for £75,000..... Just down the road close to Redruth, the foodie road-house the Inn for All Seasons is back on the market at a guide price of £260,000.... Changes are planned in Falmouth. The St. Austell Brewery distribution depot behind the Four Winds is to close along with the similar depot at Hayle. The plan is then to refurbish and extend the Four Winds, turning it into a lodge-style of operation...
Mid-Cornwall
Shorts....... In Truro, the lease of the Admiral Boscawen on the hill down from the station has now been sold. Never really a real ale pub, it has made a few half-hearted efforts over the past year or two but the beer (usually Greene King Abbot Ale) was of highly variable quality when it was even available. From what we hear of the new landlord, the situation with regard to real ale is highly unlikely to improve..... Another recent arrival on the market was Macnamara's Roundhouse, a freehouse in Truro's city centre, at an asking price of £350,000. It is a (sort-of) Irish bar with a somewhat colourful reputation, at least among ale drinkers. It has always offered draught Bass, though. Reports said that it was being bought by the leaseholder of the City Inn, but that deal has now apparently fallen through due to problems over sitting tenants in the upstairs accommodation..... Over on the Roseland, owners of the Roseland Inn at Philleigh, Jonathan and Helen Gibbard, have put it on the market. They recently bought the Turk's Head in Penzance, and also have the Victory Inn at St. Mawes..... At Devoran, the recent tragic death of landlord David Evans has not halted operations at the Old Quay Inn. The chef now has the licence for the time being and seems to be developing plans for the future..... In Cubert, the Treetops Inn has had a planning application to close it and turn it back into a dwelling refused. A relatively recent conversion to a pub (about 30 years ago), the plan was to build 'affordable homes' on the car park as well.....
East Cornwall
The Rifle Volunteer
at St. Ann's Chapel near Gunnislake has made some internal changes to provide a
novel solution to the problem of a long pull from cellar to bar. They have
actually moved the cellar closer! Part of the external wall behind the bar
was removed and a new temperature-controlled cellar space constructed behind
it. A 'flexi' glass screen was then installed between the cask stillage
and the bar, allowing customers to see the beer racked up. The pints are
now drawn by gravity dispense, passing from the cask down a tube that penetrates
the screen to the tap controlling the flow. There is space for up two 10
casks in the new cellar, 5 each on two levels, and although not all this space
will be normally in use, it is intended to feature mainly local south-west
brewery beers with one or two from Sharp's always present.
(thanks to Bob Husband for this report)
North Cornwall
Shorts....... The Golden Lion Inn in Padstow, the town's oldest pub, is to be sold..... And across the river at Rock, landlord Jeremy Turner is selling the lease of the Rock Inn and is taking the nearby Pityme Inn instead.....In Boscastle, rebuilding work at the Wellington Hotel, badly damaged in last August's floods, continues apace and the hotel is expected to reopen for business at Easter next year..... The Mill House Inn at Trebarwith Strand has been sold for £750,000. Lucky to escape with minimal damage during last August's floods in north Cornwall, the 9-bedroom hotel was once a water-driven corn mill and stands in a narrow wooded valley. New owner Mark Forbes also owns the Slipway Hotel at Port Isaac....
(Sources: CAMRA members, Packet Newspapers, the West Briton and allied publications, pub gossip, Scilly locals and Lizard's beer-stained notebook). And One & Ale!
| Top of Page | Pubs Dairy |
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 |
| 17-19 December | Seven Stars, Stithians | Winter ale festival |
| (all events subject to confirmation - check if in doubt) | ||
| Top of Page | Next article |
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, even if the cover still looks the same.
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.
| Top of Page | One & Ale |
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
May-June 2004
July-August 2004
September-October 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.
Page updated 18 December 2004