Skinner Celebrates Clean Sweep at Falmouth

It will be long-remembered in the county - somewhat ruefully by some of the Cornish brewers, no doubt - that Skinner's Brewery of Truro made almost a clean sweep of the awards in the tasting competition to find the best ales at the Falmouth Beer Festival last October. Well, brewery owner Steve Skinner had an even bigger smile on his face recently when, after a delay for technical reasons, he and his team were presented with an array of certificates and a cup for their memorable achievement that day (picture, right). A number of members of Cornwall CAMRA's beer festival staffing team, including Festival Organiser Gerry Wills and Cellar/Bar Manager Sue Hook, went along to the brewery for the presentations and (of course) traditional beer and pasties by way of a libation to the brewery boss, his wife Sarah (who works hard behind the scenes) and his dedicated staff (who work hard in front of them).

(Picture, left) Sarah and Steve Skinner show off their awards, flanked by brewery staff and CAMRA chairman Rod Davis (extreme left) and Festival Chairman Gerry Wills (extreme right)

Sharp's Brewery to Boycott Troublesome Pubs

The first signs of an industry revolt against the 'binge-drinking' culture appeared during January, when Sharp's Brewery of Rock, north Cornwall, announced that they would no longer deliver their products to pubs which promote irresponsible drinking leading to trouble on the streets.

A new website has been launched which purports to give listings to all known festivals of real ale in the country.  Run by CAMRA members, it will tell you the dates and locations of all known CAMRA festivals, but more interestingly festivals run by pubs, clubs, independent groups such as Rotarians etc if they pay a small fee, currently set at £4.90, to advertise.

The web site has been designed to be a central source of UK information regarding all CAMRA and Public House 'Real Ale' Beer Festivals - in fact any festival with decent cask conditioned real ale. It is designed to provide easy calendar navigation giving full information on each scheduled Beer Festival.
 
The sponsors' aim is to promote to advertisers the necessity of providing complete information whilst registering their events, and you will find details of locations, times, costs, beers and food, not to mention public transport links and entertainments. If we are supplied a postcode, we will even provide a map to your event alongside your listing, so people can find you.
 
The website was launched during January, and the promoters say that 'great investment has been taken throughout to ensure high visibility, alongside a resilient and functional product. We hope real ale lovers enjoy using our web site as much as we have providing it! We are sure you will agree; it is a tool that has been required for a long time now, and will save many hours surfing the web for the many other sites containing different snippets of this information'.
 
The promoters say that all Beer Festivals submitted are manually verified and listed, ensuring only top quality Real Ale events are advertised. They also point out that the £4.90 is to cover costs, adding hopefully that an event not worth spending £4.90 on is probably an event not worth attending!

Whatever, have a look and judge for yourself.  The site is at www.beer-festivals.com

Drastic Alterations Planned for Cadgwith Pub

Locals in the attractive fishing village of Cadgwith on the Lizard peninsula are up in arms for the second time this year, as the landlord of their local boozer submits a planning application to impose serious alterations to the old pub. There were sighs of relief all round earlier in the year when Kerrier District Council threw out a planning submission by the landlord of the Cadgwith Cove Inn (pictured, right) to make serious alterations both inside and out, materially changing the structure of a local pub that is at least 300 years old.  But the relief was short-lived: another submission was put forward to add a structure to the front of the pub to provide a flat terraced roof with seating for diners, and a sweeping staircase down the outside to the road level at the side.

A well-attended meeting of some 50 locals and the Parish Council in nearby Ruan Minor (there being no other meeting place in Cadgwith itself, other than the pub) heard how the landlord, Dave Trivett, appeared hell-bent on turning the old boozer into what would effectively be little more than a licensed restaurant.  Much concern was expressed over the plans for a building which is of such historic interest that it is Grade II listed both inside and out.  It would spoil one of the remaining decent frontages in the village, which itself is in a conservation area, as well as allowing rooftop diners to oversee nearby cottages.

But the main fury was aimed at plans for the inside, which would involve knocking down internal walls to sweep away the 'drinking corridor' and the 'singing bar'.  As it stands, the front bar is in effect the 'lounge' where you would go to have a relaxing beer and maybe a meal in the evening.  On the other hand, the 'drinking corridor' is pretty much just that, where you can go in working clothes at the end of the day to enjoy a couple of stiffeners before going home to clean up.  The 'singing bar' is where local singers have gone since time immemorial to have a few drinks and a good old sing-song, especially on a Friday night. There is also a small back bar.

Local people fear all this would be swept aside in the quest to provide 'more covers' for the diner rather than the drinker, and strong objections to the plans have been winging their way to Jon Pender, Kerrier Council's Head of Planning.  Oddly, Punch Taverns have said that they are not driving this, rather the momentum is all coming from their tenants Mr and Mrs Trivett, although it has to be said Punch are not exactly discouraging it either and the planning applications have been lodged in their name.

Update - Notice has now been given by Kerrier District Council that the planning application described above has been withdrawn.  However, locals' joy has been short-lived, as the landlord recently announced that the pub would be in January 'for internal alterations'.  Their fears and suspicions seem to be well-justified as the District Council have announced that another application to alter a listed building was lodged by the landlord in the middle of November; the deadline for objections to this latest attempt passed in early December.  However, a report has since been received that this application was incomplete and more information was required before it could be considered, which means that the process starts again!  So, as we write, the licensees are abroad on holiday, the pub is still open - and the fight goes on.

Cornish Pub News

West Cornwall

To few people's surprise, the Smugglers' Inn at St. Erth Praze has finally closed.  Known for its jazz sessions especially on Sunday lunchtimes, there had been a lot of disquiet about the place of late, with complaints of poor beer quality and incompetent, surly staff being commonplace - to the extent that the traditional jazz club, associated with the pub for many years, had been seeking alternative premises to practise their art.  Now the pub has suddenly closed, apparently bankrupt, and within days the fixtures and fittings had been stripped out.  Observers say the process looks terminal - certainly the pub occupies a large piece of land which could prove highly attractive to developers. CAMRA has not had any approaches from heartbroken locals about fighting to keep the place open as a pub, so things had obviously been pretty bad of late.  Possibly by design, the cynics might add......

Mid-Cornwall

Up for grabs is the Plume of Feathers in Mitchell, near (ish) Truro.  A free house, over the years it has been transformed from a simple village pub (once owned by Devenish Brewery) into a substantial eating house with letting accommodation......  The Victory Inn at the somewhat windswept north coast location of Towan Cross, near Porthtowan, is reportedly under offer after having been on the 'for sale' lists for some months....  Also under offer is  the rarely-reported Four Burrows Inn in the village of Grampound Road, asking price £395,000.  A free house, it has been trading in a somewhat limited fashion of late so there would be ample scope for some imaginative development by the new owners.....  Meanwhile, over at Penhallow the White House is on the market again. Recently extensively refurbished, it is a free house but the major emphasis is on food and accommodation...... Down on the south coast, the Cellar Bar in Mevagissey is up for sale.  This tiny atmospheric pub right in the centre of town has of late been offering two real ales, usually one from Sharp's Brewery and a second guest ale which varied.  Yet another free house, this one is going for £350,000.... On the remote Roseland Peninsula, the Royal Standard at Gerrans is reportedly now sold.   As has been  Skinner's Ale House in Newquay.  Although little to do with Skinner's Brewery any more, the pub keeps the name on condition that it sells their beers.... Two of Truro's pubs have disappeared over recent weeks.  The Royal Standard closed and underwent major structural alterations to turn it into a bistro, while Macnamara's Roundhouse simply closed after having been on and off the market for many months.  Its future remains unknown at present.

East Cornwall

In Mevagissey, the tiny but pleasant Cellar Bar is on the market for an asking price of £325,000.  It has for a long time offered one or two Cornish real ales, but the quality has been found to have suffered of late as the owner presumably lost interest....  The Punch Bowl at Lanreath, between Looe and Polperro, has been sold as a free house. 

North Cornwall

(Sources: CAMRA members, Beer Today, Packet Newspapers, the West Briton and allied publications, pub gossip, Scilly locals and Lizard's beer-stained notebook).  And One & Ale!

Cornish Brewery News

A fairly new operation called the Lizard Brewery started full-time brewing late last year from premises in St. Keverne on the Lizard peninsula.  The brewery is now brewing regularly, with three ales available in limited outlets in the Lizard area, although the number of pubs taking the beer is slowly expanding. Kernow Gold and Lizard Bitter, both around 4%abv, were the first two brews. They have recently introduced a third brew, a strong Cornish ale called An Gof (5.2%).  Named after the smith who led the 1497 rebellion, it is appropriately dark and smokey.

At the Ring O'Bells Brewery near Launceston, recent rapid expansion into a new building to cope with demand has allowed production of more of its beer to be shipped ‘up country’ for distribution through the Jolly’s/LWC network, as well as brewing beer brands owned by LWC.  Ring O’Bells has also started production of a lager called Cornish Steam, mainly for keg and bottle although the occasional cask-conditioned version is to be found.  The brew is sent to Burtonwood for kegging and bottling. Other brews, apparently commissioned by Jolly's, have appeared under the 'Gray's Brewery' and 'Lanson Brewery' labels.

In Stithians, the tiny Bathtub Brewery ('nano-brewery' according to its head brewer) is now brewing on site.  Some experimental brews have appeared over the bar in the village pub, and following the success of Pete's Porter a premium bitter called Stithians Special was been developed.  Based on an earlier trial version called Wasted, it went through several iterations to its current incarnation, slightly weaker, at 4.5% abv.  Another, weaker brew which has proved popular has also appeared.  Called Stithians Golden Bitter, it weighs in at 3.8%abv.  Brewing remains sporadic, however, as Peter Martin the brewer strives to get the balance of ingredients right before going into continuous production.  He plans to have three brews in his portfolio, one of which however, the Porter, will be brewed for beer festivals only.

The Wooden Hand Brewery at Grampound Road goes from strength to strength, has added a fourth beer to their portfolio.  Called Cornish Buccaneer,  it is a 4.3% abv brew .  The other three beers produced by ex-Redruth Brewery employees Kevin Frantham and Mel Hill are Cornish Mutiny (4.8%abv, their first brew), Smugglers' Gold, a lighter beer at 3.6%abv that has sold well in spite of limited fine weather; and Black Pearl (4.3%), not a dark beer as its name implies but a best bitter aimed at the likes of Doom Bar and Betty Stogs drinkers.  The brewery's premises, the original Ventonwyn Brewery site, was too cramped for everything that Kev and Mel want to do, so they recently acquired two other industrial units close by where they can store beer for maturing and bottling.

Sharp's Brewery has been going all out recently to expand its operation both within the county and beyond.  Sales went up 30% during the autumn quarter of 2004 compared with the same period in 2003, 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 during 2005.

Skinner's Brewery in Truro have now moved into keg lager to satisfy the demands of the surfing fraternity.  Called Cornish Storm, the lager is in production and being kegged by Robinson’s of Stockport pending installation of Skinner’s own plant.  It is reportedly knocking sales of the 'nationals' such as Stella into a cocked hat in the pubs on the north coast.  A recent addition to the real ale portfolio is Davy Jones Knocker at 5%abv.  Now appearing in various pubs, the brewery is donating 5p for each pint sold towards training of beach lifeguards.  Meanwhile, the ever-popular seasonal brew Pennycomequick stout is set to appear again in time for Falmouth's Oyster Festival.

St. Austell Brewery  The new Admiral’s Ale (5.0%) was been launched in bottle, and is also now available for the season in draught form until October, albeit as a weaker brew at 4.0%, which puts it head-to-head with Tribute. Bottles are available in ASDA, Somerfield and Spar shops.  Meanwhile, brewing overall remains very healthy, with an 11% increase in annual sales recently announced which takes the total volume produced to 26,000 barrels.

Keltek Brewery has ceased production for the time, moving its 20-barrel plant to Redruth.

The Organic Brewhouse is still brewing steadily but suffered a slowdown over the winter months with operations just barely ticking over.  New sources of organic ingredients (malt and hops) have been identified which brewer Andy Hamer plans to use to widen the scope of his production of real ales.

The Driftwood Spars Brewery recently stopped dry-hopping its Cuckoo Ale, which has reportedly improved the flavour.  Blackawton Brewery in Saltash is continuing production of the beers as before despite being sold last autumn, and the new proprietor/brewer Steve Horn has now developed a brew of his own - Peninsula Ale, to be launched soon at the Old Mill House, Polperro.  A younger micro-brewery, Doghouse, has reported brisk sales of Staffi Stout, competing well with Guinness since the prices of the latter in Cornwall started to reach near rip-off levels. Dingo Lager has also appeared again for the summer period.  And the long-awaited brew using the new Susan hop variety, Snoozy Suzy, has been generating a strong demand.  Its strength is 4.3%abv.  Finally, the small-scale Wheal Ale brewery based at Paradise Park in Hayle appears to have stopped brewing after around 20 years of operations behind the Bird In Hand pub.  Domestic problems rather than financial are thought to be the reason.

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.

One & Ale - the Cornwall CAMRA Newsletter

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 
November-December 2004 
January-February 2005 
March-April 2005 
May-June 2005 
July-August 2005 
September-October 2005 
November-December 2005 

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.