Branch bits

BEER MATTERS DISTRIBUTION We currently print 3,500 copies of the magazine which are delivered by courier from the printers to the Rutland Arms where volunteers, who we really appreciate, collect a stock and take them out to pubs across our branch area which is huge – the entire city of Sheffield plus Killamarsh and a big chunk of the Derbyshire Peak District. At the moment we have no record of who is taking the magazines and where they are going, which means from time to time some pubs get missed out and on other occasions some pubs get more than one delivery. Additionally distribution from the Rutland is getting problematic at times for all involved – this is a small pub that is much busier than when we first started using it as a base – obviously the format with good beer, quality food, a jukebox and staff with personality is working! Therefore we will be making some changes soon and starting from scratch. we’ll be moving to a different City Centre pub as our main distribution base and are also considering introducing some secondary out of town distribution points to help those that live in, and deliver to, locations that are a fair distance out of town. At this point we ask that ALL volunteers that deliver magazines get in touch with Andy Shaw, who has agreed to volunteer as our new distribution co-ordinator, to sign up to a specific delivery run so we have a record of where magazines are going. Andy will advise you of where to collect the magazines from when you sign up for your run. His email address is andshaw@gmail.com. CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR We’ll be choosing our Cider Pub of the Year winners at the March branch meeting. These will be put forward to the Yorkshire and Derbyshire county rounds of the national competition. If you know a pub in our area that is a good place to drink real cider and perry let us know and nominate it as a potential Cider Pub of the Year. Our winner last year was the Harlequin on Nursery Street. Our friends in Dronfield branch have already announced their winner – the Travellers Rest at Apperknowle, which will also go forward into the Derbyshire round of the national competition. SHEFFIELD PUB OF THE YEAR / DISTRICT PUB OF THE YEAR Member voting has now closed for our main Pub of the Year competition and our team of volunteer judges are all in the process of individually visiting the top pubs from the vote to see which is the overall winner. They will be scoring pubs based on the same criteria used in CAMRA’s national competition – the majority of the score is based on beer qualiity, however other factors that set one good beer pub above another are also taken into account such as value for money, service, cleanliness, sympathy with CAMRA’s aims, participation in community and clientele mix.