THE GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL – WINTER
The GBBF-W has moved west to east from Birmingham to Britain’s capital of brewing, Burton upon Trent. It will be held in the Grade II-listed (1878) Town Hall in King Edward Place from 16 to 18 February, 2023. As well as hundreds of cask and craft beers, there will also be ciders, perries and gins plus a range of entertainment and food throughout the weekend. Tickets for the event are now available for purchase at https://winter.gbbf.org.uk/.
TOP AWARD FOR THE HOP INN
The Hop Inn micropub in Hornchurch has been voted CAMRA’s National Cider & Perry Pub of the Year. The award was presented on 30 September to mark the start of CAMRA’s Cider Month. The Hop Inn was opened in 2019 by Alison Taffs and Phil Cooke. Alison commented, “I know how good real cider and perry can be and I want it to be viewed with the same enthusiasm and respect that we see across other drink categories. We have so many talented producers in this country who are creating things that are just extraordinary and I love sharing these amazing drinks with our visitors.”
GREATER LONDON CLUB OF THE YEAR
The award, the most recent of many, was presented to the Leyton Orient Supporters Club on 10 November. CAMRA’s Regional Director for Greater London, Geoff Strawbridge, did the honours and is pictured here in front of the club’s volunteer bar team. LOSC now goes forward to the final rounds of CAMRA’s National Club of the Year competition. The winner will be announced in January 2023 and should be covered in our next edition.
CHAMPION BEER OF LONDON
On 16 October it was the turn of the Wimbledon Brewery to receive their awards. There were two: one for the overall bronze award and the other for first place in the Strong Ales & Barley Wines category. The beer in question was their formidable XXXK Vintage Ale (10% ABV). The photo again shows Geoff Strawbridge, presenting the certificates to Wimbledon’s Jola Rozylo. The beer can be purchased from the brewery shop or on-line. It’s perfect for Christmas. With thanks to Mark Davies for the photo.
KINGSTON & LEATHERHEAD PUB OF THE YEAR
One evening at the beginning of October, members of CAMRA’s Kingston & Leatherhead branch gathered at the Wych Elm in Kingston, to present the branch’s joint Pub of the Year award.
The certificate was presented by branch chairman Richard Russell to Pete Simmonds, who has been looking after the beers for many years and does it very well. We enjoyed excellent ales from Fuller’s, Dark Star and the local Park Brewery. A very pleasant evening was had by all in this smart, well run pub. The other joint winner is the Running Horse in Leatherhead.
Clive Taylor
RICHMOND & HOUNSLOW PUB OF THE YEAR
CAMRA’s Richmond and Hounslow branch’s Pub of the Year is the Jolly Coopers in High Street, Hampton. The photo shows branch chairman, Bob Gordon, surrounded by CAMRA stalwarts, presenting long established (since 1986!) licensee Nick Witham with the award certificate. The pub offers a wide range of ales and fine food in a welcoming, friendly local atmosphere. Nick and wife Jane recently also won a CAMRA Lockdown Hero award for their support for the local community during the pandemic.
John Austin (who also took the photo)
THE MAGDALA MAKES ITS GBG DEBUT
Having only reopened in 2021, the Magdala has now, for the first time, won a place in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. Colin Coyne, the chair of CAMRA’s North London branch, presented the pub with their ‘We are in it’ certificate and commented, “This pub was closed for at least five years and we were concerned that it would never open again. This is despite the efforts of locals to get the pub listed as an Asset of Community Value. The new operators, Twickenham Green Taverns, are experienced pub owners. They have really invested in this pub, which dates back to the inter war years. It has included a careful restoration of the wooden panelling throughout the ground floor bar and dining areas.
The new sections of wood blend with the original panelling in the bar area at the back of the pub. It’s resulted in a lovely looking establishment with a range of terrific well kept beer. It really is a pleasure to see them rewarded for all their hard work.”
THREE IN A ROW FOR THE FOX ON THE HILL
CAMRA’s South East London branch marked the pub’s achievement of being listed in the Good Beer Guide for three consecutive years by making a formal presentation of their ‘we are in it’ certificate.
The photo shows Eric Camfield from the branch (right) with the pub’s manager, Ryan Way.
TWICKENHAM BEER FESTIVAL
In October, Twickenham Beer Festival, organised by CAMRA’s Richmond & Hounslow branch, returned after its two year pandemic break. The festival had a new venue, the Winchester Room at the Turk’s Head in St Margarets. This year’s theme celebrated 100 years of the BBC.
The new venue was rated a great success, with customers consuming most of the 40 beers and 9 ciders on offer. The beer of the festival was Tiny Rebel’s Dark Cherry red ale (4.6% ABV) and the cider of the festival was Thirsty Farmer’s Hot Poker (medium, 4% ABV) from Leicestershire.
The festival was opened by the Mayor of Richmond, Councillor Julia Cambridge, pictured with branch chairman Bob Gordon enjoying a pint of Twickenham Fine Ales Naked Ladies, which is the Champion Beer of London 2022.
John Austin (who also took the photo)
SOUTH NORWOOD BEER OF THE FESTIVAL
The Beer of the Festival comes from Yorkshire in the form of Ossett Brewery’s Voodoo Chocolate Orange Stout (5% ABV). The runners up were Cronx Brewery for their annual Green Hop IPA followed by Castle Rock Brewery with another dark one, their Oatmeal Stout (4.6% ABV).
YOUNG MEMBERS’ NEWS
Many thanks to all who made it down to Sambrook’s brewery on the evening of 10 November for the visit to the Heritage Centre, conducted by the legendary John Hatch. The Centre celebrates Britain’s oldest known continuous brewing site and is chock-full of brewery artefacts, some of which are over 150 Years old! John taught us that the history of the site goes much further back than that. He is a natural raconteur whose passion suffuses every sentence. His knowledge of his subject is second to none and he is still uncovering new facts and artefacts to this day. For more information, see Christine Cryne’s profile of him here.
Thanks to a very generous donation by one of our members, we were able to offer this tour to our branch’s young members at a considerable discount. We viewed this as an ‘activation’ event whereby some of our less active and, in particular, our younger members were given priority. I’m glad to say that the event didn’t disappoint and we even had one friend of a member join CAMRA that very night!
John Hatch’s knowledge of brewing is equalled by his brewing skills and, after the tour, we were able to sample some of his small batch brews as well as work our way through the Sambrook’s range in the Brewery Tap. New acquaintances were made over a few pints, local pub knowledge was shared and our extended CAMRA family got a little closer. Overall an excellent night and I highly recommend one of these tours.
Navindh Baburam
Young members’ representative – South West London branch
TASTE TRAINING
Have you thought about joining one of CAMRA’s Tasting Panels and, through that, contributing to the Champion Beer of Britain competition and helping with the beer descriptions in the Good Beer Guide? If so, the chair of the London Tasting Panel, Christine Cryne, will be holding an all-day training session on Saturday 4 February (start 11.10). The venue is the Parcel Yard at King’s Cross station. To book your place, go here.