Category: News

Within CAMRA is a group called APPLE – the ‘Apple & Pear Liaison Executive’ who campaign for the availability of real cider & perry. Whilst some may argue the Campaign for Real Ale has been won, the one for real cider & Perry certainly hasn’t with very few pubs and bars offering a range of the real thing. At a basic level, the definition of REAL Cider & Perry is that which is made from nothing more than fermented fresh apple or pear juice – no use of concentrates, artificial flavouring, gas or industrial processes. National Real Cider & Perry Month is celebrated in October as that is when apples are harvested and traditional cider makers are busy pressing that fresh crop! DRONFIELD CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR The Dronfield & District sub branch are pleased to announce the winner of their Cider Pub of the Year competition, voted for by local members, as the Three Tuns in Dronfield. The Three Tuns being a Spire brewery run pub surprises many people by making as much effort to offer a good range of cider as well as their beer, although with the success of cider at the pub Spire Brewery has started to dabble in cider making with a test batch made towards the end of last year sold at the pub during the Three Valleys Festival in June. The Tuns offers a regularly changing range of cider and perry of varying strengths and sweetness, all served cellar cool. In addition to the real ciders there are usually also some fruit flavoured variations, together making up a choice of around 13. A list of the current choice can be found on the bar. The Three Tuns will be Dronfield’s entry into the Derbyshire round of the national competition. SHEFFIELD & DISTRICT CIDER PUB OF THE YEAR We now invite nominations for this award from our members. Any pub in the City of Sheffield plus the parts of Derbyshire that fall into our branch area (including Killamarsh and the Hope Valley) are eligible if they serve real cider and/or perry. The purpose of the award is to recognise those pubs that are making the effort to offer and promote real cider and real perry and serve it in a good, enjoyable condition. The deadline for nominations is the start of our January branch meeting where we will vote for the winner, which will form our entry into the regional round of the national competition. WOODTHORPE HALL APPLE PRESSING – SATURDAY 11th OCTOBER Woodthorpe Hall in Holmesfield, near Dronfield, produces one artisan cider – Owd Barker – along with a sweetened version called Rubie Suzie. The apple pressing to make this cider takes place each October and is undertaken by a merry band of volunteers recruited by Woodthorpe Hall owner and resident Dick Shepley – they are friends, relatives, business acquaintances  and CAMRA members. The CAMRA members are from Sheffield, Dronfield and Chesterfield branches. We get to Woodthorpe Hall about 11am and introduce ourselves to the others and help out until the lunch break, we then have a walk back up into the village for a drink and bite to eat before returning and getting involved with the work – this includes carrying wheelbarrow loads of apples from the storage area on the drive to the pressing area, washing apples, pulping, digging out the pulp and taking it the pressing area, pressing, bottling the juice, transporting the juice to the fermentation tanks and emptying the bottles of juice into the fermenters. The volunteers are looked after, there is a tea break with homemade cakes and hot drinks and once all work is complete there is opportunity to relax with a cider or two as reward. To get there: From Sheffield we catch the Stagecoach 43 bus at 9:55am from Sheffield to Dronfield Woodhouse and connect onto TM Travel bus 16 onwards up to Holmesfield. From the Chesterfield and Dronfield area the TM Travel bus 14 to Holmesfield picks up at Chesterfield 10:10, Hundall 10:25, Apperknowle 10:28, Coal Aston 10:36, Dronfield Civic Centre (where it becomes a route 16) 10:44 and Dronfield Woodhouse Stubley Lane 10:47. From  Barlow, TM Travel bus 16A departs at 10:24. If you intend on attending the apple pressing, please let Dronfield social secretary Nick Wheat know beforehand as places are limited.

‘Yorkshire’s Real Heritage Pubs : Pub Interiors of Special Historic Interest’  (2nd.Edition) was available at the recent CAMRA Great British Beer Festival at Olympia and is now available nationwide. The official launch is at Whitelocks, (Leeds), on 29th.August. In attendance will be the MP for Leeds North West, Greg Mulholland. Greg is Chair of ‘Save the Pub,’ an all party parliamentary group which aims to preserve and protect the Great British pub. Sheffield pubs featured are: The Bath Hotel, The Cross Keys (Handsworth), The Grapes, The Manor Castle, The Railway (Brightside), the Sheffield Tap, The Travellers Rest (Oughtibridge) and The White Lion. The book costs £4.99 (£3.99 to CAMRA members) and is available from the CAMRA shop. Also in hand is the creation of a local list of Sheffield pub interiors which, whilst not of national or regional importance, nevertheless contain elements of historic interest like some old fixtures and fittings or much of their original layout. Examples include: Carbrook Hall, The Dog and Partridge,  Fagans,  The New Barrack, The Old Crown (London Road), The Princess Royal, Ye Olde Shakespeare Inn (Heeley), Shakespeare (West Bar), The Sportsman Inn (Blackburn), The Wagon and Horses (Heeley Green), and The Wellington (Shalesmoor). There are a number of other pubs who have distinctive historical exteriors. These include Bloo88 (Hallamshire Hotel), The Rutland Arms and The Ship Inn. We are grateful to the Sheffield Star, Morning Telegraph and the Yorkshire Post for mentioning the creation of the local list and a number of subsequent suggestions from readers. We welcome other examples of Sheffield pubs with distinctive historical features. Please email information to: dpickersgill1@gmail.com

CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain competition sees a selection and judging process over almost a year, with initial county categories selected by an online vote open to all CAMRA members followed by a programme of judging in their categories at various beer festivals around the country until the finalists are judged by a blind tasting panel at the Great British Beer Festival with the winner crowned at the trade session, which was this year on Tuesday 12th August. Amongst breweries near us there were a couple of honourable mentions with Peak Ales’ Chatsworth Gold getting a bronze in the speciality category and Spire Brewery’s Prince Igor Imperial Russian Stout getting a bronze in the real ale in a bottle category. The overall winner, just pipping Oakham Citra to the post was a classic Yorkshire bitter – Timothy Taylor Boltmaker. Timothy Taylor isn’t exactly one of the more fashionable breweries in the ‘craft beer revolution’ being stubbornly and proudly traditional, however there is no denying their commitment to quality beer. Nik Antona, Champion Beer of Britain Director, spoke in praise of today’s winner. He said: “It is fantastic to announce Timothy Taylor’s Boltmaker as the Champion Beer of Britain 2014. This full flavoured bitter is a modern classic that is as impressive today as the day it was first brewed. ” Head Brewer Peter Eells said, “I’m speechless. We work very hard to produce great beers and we really believe this is the best beer we can brew – so to have it acknowledged in such an important competition is absolutely fantastic.” Managing Director Charles Dent added, “We’re absolutely delighted. It’s our favourite, it’s the brewers favourite, it’s the beer that you drink if you’re drinking with us and it’s named after one of our favourites pubs – The Boltmakers.” The full results by category: Overall winners- Gold – Timothy Taylors, Boltmaker Silver – Oakham, Citra Bronze – Salopian, Darwin’s Origin Mild category- Gold – Bank Top, Dark Mild Silver – Branscombe Vale, Mild Bronze – Castle Rock, Black Gold Bitters category- Gold – Timothy Taylor, Boltmaker Silver – Mighty Oak, Captain Bob Joint Bronze – Flowerpots, Flowerpots Bitter & Sambrook’s Wandle Ale Best Bitters- Gold – Salopian, Darwin’s Origin Silver – Red Willow, Directionless Joint Bronze – Purity, Mad Goose & Langton, Inclined plain bitter Golden Ales- Gold – Oakham, Citra Silver – Hawkshead, Cumbrian Five Hop Bronze – Salopian, Hop Twister Strong Bitters- Gold – Church End, Fallen Angel Silver – Blue Monkey, Ape Ale Bronze –Loch Ness, HoppyNESS Speciality Beers- Gold – Saltaire, Triple Chocoholic Silver – Offbeat, Way Out Wheat Bronze – Peak Ales, Chatsworth Gold Champion Winter Beer of Britain (from category winners announced in January 2014)- Cairngorm, Black Gold (Stouts Category) Dunham Massey, Dunham Porter (Porter Category) Exe Valley, Winter Glow (Old Ales & Strong Milds) Kinver, Over the Edge (Barley Wines & Strong Old Ales) Champion Bottled Beer of Britain winners  (Sponsored by Beer Hawk) Gold – Marble, Chocolate Marble Silver – St Austell, Proper Job Bronze – Spire, Prince Igor Imperial Russian Stout

CAMRA has launched a new hard-hitting campaign to urge the Government to close national planning loopholes. The campaign, ‘Pubs Matter: So why can’t we have a say’, aims to give power back to local communities by ensuring planning permission is always required before the change of use or demolition of a pub. Local pubs are currently closing at an alarming rate and every week two pubs are converted into supermarkets. CAMRA says the current planning system too often leaves local communities powerless to act in the face of big companies and unscrupulous developers keen to exploit these loopholes. Under current planning law, pubs can be demolished or converted into several other uses including supermarkets and estate agents without requiring planning permission. CAMRA says allowing pubs to be converted without a planning application is ludicrous – and Government must step in and close these loopholes as a matter of urgency. Tom Stainer, CAMRA’s Head of Communications said: “Popular and profitable pubs are being left vulnerable by gaps in English planning legislation as pubs are increasingly being targeted by those wishing to take advantage of the absence of proper planning control. “It is wrong that communities are left powerless when a popular local pub is threatened with demolition or conversion into a Tesco store. “It is time for the Government to stop standing by while pubs are being targeted due to gaps in planning law.” With a simple amendment to the General Permitted Development Order 1995, any demolition or change of use involving the loss of a pub would require planning permission. This small change by Government would save hundreds of pubs from closure and give communities a powerful new weapon in the battle to protect our pubs. To support the campaign please go to www.pubsmattter.org.uk