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Colchester CAMRA - 2005
News Archive
7th Sept 2005 - Webmaster Wanted
It's with regret, but out of necessity that I'm standing down
as Webmaster at the October AGM.
My two years keeping the website up-to-date
and (hopefully) of interest has been extremely enjoyable, if demanding at times.
A number of people have helped with the site, and my special thanks go the Dave
Nunn and Richard Oxborrow, who have always inspired me.
But, commitments outside
of CAMRA have meant I haven't been able to put as much effort into the site in
recent months, something that isn't likely to change in the near future. I don't
feel it's fair to have a semi-updated site, and would prefer to see a single
page of content that is recent and relevant than a rich site that's months out-of-date.
So, to business.....
Do you feel you can commit the time to keeping the website content fresh?
Do
you have PC skills- You don't need to be Bill Gates, just have a willingness
to learn and the time to do it.
Is there a touch of Journalist in you?
If the
answer is yes and you'd be interested in taking over the site, please get in
touch with me
or one of the other Committee members.
Don't be worried about being thrown in
at the deep end - we'll make sure you're helped through until your confident.
Robert Atkinson
7th Sept 2005 - Clacton Beer Festival Report
Firstly, a massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the 10th Clacton festival
another record-breaking success.
For those who like statistics, this year we
featured .... 51 different beers, selling 4032 of the 4120 pints of real ale
we ordered - up 14% on 2004.
Thanks especially to the Mighty Oak and Mersea
Island Breweries who helped with the emergency reorder when it became obvious
that beer supplies would not last till Saturday night!
We also sold all 468
pints of cider and perry - a massive 260% increase on the previous year.
And with 1233 people through the door (up 13%), Clacton can thankfully no longer
lay claim to the title of CAMRA's smallest beer festival - but from comments
received, we really feel it is one of the best in the country.
And a big thank
you to everyone who contributed to the £108 we raised for the
CLIC Sargent Children's Cancer Charity, in memory of Steve Chandler, former
landlord of Ye Olde Cherry Tree in Little Oakley. Added to the amount raised
at the Colchester festival, we have now donated over £700 - can the generosity
continue at December's Harwich & Dovercourt Festival - it would be great
to get into four figures.
Beer of the Festival went to Felstar's Bohemian Black
Lager, with Gunner's Daughter from the Old Cannon Brewery as runner-up.
Top
Cider was Double Vision Medium.
So a big thank you to all customers, CAMRA members
and non-members alike. And especially to the committee, and everyone who worked
so hard at the festival.
When I took over running the Clacton festival in 2004, it was on the understanding
that we needed more help from local members in the planning, organisation and
staffing of the event. I am delighted that this support was forthcoming, to
the extent that I now feel ready to stand down from the 2006 festival.
We already
have one nomination from a Clacton member to take over as Organiser at our
AGM on 27th October, and trust that he, or whoever else is elected (it's still
not too late to volunteer!) will enjoy the increasing support locally which
has enabled me to take more of a back seat.
Here's to the next ten years of
the Clacton Beer Festival!
Dave Nunn
Beer Festival Organiser
15 Aug 2005 - Mersea Brewery Hosts Harwich
Harwich & Dovercourt festival goers have proved that they are a thirsty
lot but it seems they are patient as well.
A full four months ahead of the Harwich & Dovercourt Bay Winter Ale Festiva,l
three festival organisers helped brew a traditional India Pale Ale at the Mersea
Island Brewery.
Colchester branch member and amateur brewer Colin Miller suggested
the recipe and organised the day while Mark Barber of the Mersea Island Brewery
hosted the event and kept a careful eye on proceedings.
 The 6%
brew is an all-malt strong pale ale - strongly hopped to survive the long sea
voyage experienced by these ales. It will now mature in cask until December
when it will be available at the festival.
After a long day - Ken scrubbed
the fermentation vessel, Paul scrubbed the copper and Richard drove the car
- the three went home tired but happy.
Colin's brewing know-how was very impressive
as was his enthusiasm and the Mersea hospitality had been amazing.
Harwich
festival helpers will name the beer at a meeting in the near future and the
beer will be available at the festival from 1st to 3rd December at the Kingsway
Hall, Dovercourt.
Richard Oxborrow
18 May 2005 - Adnams To Sponsor 2005 Beer Fest
We are proud to announce that this year's Colchester Festival will be sponsored
by Adnams of Southwold.
As many will know, Adams is based just up the coast in
Suffolk, and has a large number of outlets in the East Anglian area, including
quite a few in Colchester.
This is quite a coup for the branch, as we've also managed to persuade Adams
to allow us to showcase their brand new beer, Flagship, just
before it's official launch.
Adnams will be sponsoring the beer festival glasses,
which allows us to print the Beer Festival logo in full colour. Their logo will
also appear on the glasses as well.
For more information on the beer festival
itself, see the Beer
Festival pages.
1st May 2005 - New Bell, Harwich Wins POTY Award
It seems to be a good week for honors. Whilst out and about for a branch
meeting, Richard Oxborrow - the Harwich Beer Festival Organiser - took the
opportunity to present the C&NEE Most Improved Pub 2004/2005
award to the New Bell Inn, Harwich.
Richard and his wife Sue were
delighted with the award, as you can see, and the branch en joyed
the celebrations through the evening.
The New Bell can be found near the
quayside in Harwich and sells a range of 3 or 4 Real Ales, including
Nethergate's Priory Mild.
1st May 2005 - Railway Tavern In Print
Our very own little brewery has made it into the echelons of CAMRA
publications, What's Brewing, in the form of a "Mild Hero"
article.
Dave English of the Railway Tavern, Brightlingsea was singled out by Ted
Bruning (What's Brewing Editor) for fame and stardom.
Ted visited Dave at his micro-brewery, at the back of the pub, in an old
toilet block, to find out what makes his Mild so special and why his
customers keep coming back for more.
I won't spoil the surprise for What's Brewing readers, but the 2-page spread
does make very interesting reading, especially the story of how Dave got
going in the Pub and Brewery business.
It really is now the Famous Railway
Tavern!
1st May 2005 - Colchester Wins WOTY Award
 After 12 months of midnight editing and story hunting, I'm extremely
proud that the Colchester & NE Essex branch has been awarded Most
Improved CAMRA Website Of The Year 2005.
Volunteer judges made up of CAMRA webmasters visit each of the sites
and mark them out of 100. When the points are totaled up, a small ITG
(Internet Task Group) committee then chooses the final winners.
I'd like to take
the opportunity to thank my fellow peers - the other webmasters. Through their
hard work and advice, it's made it possible for me to put together what you
now see.
Of course, my thanks also has to go to Mike Harvey. If he hadn't handed
me such a terrible site, I could never have improved on it! Just kidding
Mike. If you'd like to see where it all started go to the Rusty56
site.
Finally, to everyone else at the branch who've sent me pieces to publish,
or who've given me invaluable feedback on what they like or dislike. My only
request is that you please continue to do so, so we can make the site even
better, and even more interesting and useful.
Robert
1st May 2005 - Mersea Brewery Opening Day
Mersea Island was the setting for the launch of a new
brewery to our area, on March 18th.
The Mersea
Island Brewing Company, part of the Mersea Wines estate, invited a host
of dignitaries to it's opening day at the brewery on East Mersea.
The agenda
for the day - to sample the beers available, watch the official opening by
Helen McDermott from Anglia TV News, and generally enjoy oneself!
The
setting for the brewery couldn't be better. As you drive up to the brewery,
the vineyards fill the vista to your left, stretching down to the beach a
few hundred yards away. Turning to the right, your met with a horseshoe
shaped courtyard.
The bungalow sized, farmhouse style buildings are home to
Roger, Jacqui and Mark, who own and run both the vineyard and brewery.
They
also house the B&B rooms and a self-contained cottage. All of course are
available to rent.
Finally,
on the far side of the brick-cobbled courtyard is the Courtyard Cafe, not
officially open until the following week, but for our visit, stocked with
plenty of working handpumps. The brewery itself hides inside
a large 2-storey shed, sited at the back of the courtyard complex. Inside,
it's like most Industrial Estate based micro-breweries, boilers and
fermenters in full view, bags of hops to the side, metal barrels to the
other.
However, it's location gives it a whole new perspective.
I can't
really describe how tranquil the whole place is, just to say that you'll
have to pay it a visit and find out for yourself.
Another
aspect that made the day seem idyllic was the bright sunshine and warm
weather, a little unusual for that time of the year, but perhaps conjured up
by a few choice prayers from Roger?
After an hour or so of sampling the beers,
which were Yo Boy, Skippers and Mersea Mud, everyone had finally arrived and
the opening could begin.
Members of a number of CAMRA branches crowded around
together with DEFRA
(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), local dignitaries and
representatives from local pubs and off-licences.
After a short speech he
ribbon was cut, and we could all get back to enjoying the beers in the sun.
Helen McDermott from Anglia TV News (centre) looks over the
new brewery with owners Roger and Jacqui (left)
A note on the beers themselves.
Yo Boy is the session ale at 3.8%. Fairly
light and golden, but lacking in strong flavours, for my pallet of course.
However, very quaffable and a good seller on the right bar.
Then came Mersea
Mud, a dark mild also at 3.8%. This had an old fashioned 'malty' taste, but
was very drinkable indeed. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing, but one
of the group announced, "Wow, you can really smell
the mud in it!". I'm not sure if I could, as it didn't spend long
enough in my glass to find out.
After a few pints of that came Skippers, a strong
4.8% bitter. Now if I were to say that it was a dangerous beer, a few Adnams
Broadside drinkers would probably know what I was talking about. The beer was
unbelievably smooth, and tasted more like a 3.5% strength beer. The flavours
were awesome, which is where the dangerous bit comes in. You can imagine yourself
sitting at the bar, drinking 5 or 6 pints of it and then waving goodbye to your
legs!
As the sun started to set, and most of the guests left for home, we
retired into the Cafe and were joined by Roger and Jacqui.
Hopefully we were
reasonably coherent in our conversations - we had downed quite a few pints
by then. Chatting away, we discovered (to our amazement) that Roger hadn't
come to Mersea having spent years tending a French vineyard, or selling gold
on the world markets. No, he used to be an electrician and got fed up of it!
The vineyard came onto the market fairly run-down, and they both saw it as
an opportunity to venture into unknown territory, with panoramic views to
boot.
Helped along in this Brewery venture by our very own Wise Monkeys, Roger,
Jacqui and the rest of the team at Mersea Vineyard, and now Brewery, can
easily stand with their heads held high and pronounce the success of another
micro-brewery.
This has been fortified by the comments from recent local
beer festivals, where their beers showcased for the first time.
If you'd like to try some of the Mersea beers, they're available from the
Courtyard Cafe (of course), The Fox Inn, West Mersea and hopefully soon, the
Fox & Fiddler, Colchester, as well as a number of other establishments.
18th Apr 2005 - Sad Loss As Steve Chandler Dies
A real sense of tragedy and loss envelopes the branch at the moment, as one
of the most respected and loved publicans - Steve Chandler - was buried last
week.
Steve ran Ye Olde Cherry Tree in Little Oakley, along with his wife
Julie, and made a complete success story of the place.
Many accolades were
bestowed on his talents, on both sides of the bar.
Having hung up his cellar apron and retired to a quieter life, it came as
a shock to all that Steve suddenly found out he was terminally ill.
Unfortunately, not even he could beat the cruel blow dealt to him.
Many will miss his friendly smile, and amusing banter about days gone by,
and his life as an ex-pat in the Middle East.
I know how the BOLOC RATS
looked up to Steve and how his enthusiasm saw them leave many a festival
sideways!
On a personal note, Steve impressed me from our first encounters. Having
been introduced one night as 'Robert', I was amazed when the next time I
walked in (some months later) he welcomed me in and greeted me using my
name. Just another example of how Steve really did care about the person
stood on the other side of the bar.
Our hearts go out to Julie at this sad time,
and we hope she can find the strength to think of the good times she and Steve
enjoyed together.
To celebrate the memory of Steve, I ask one thing of you -
that you'll visit the Cherry Tree sometime in the near future, have a half,
and say a prayer for Julie and the family.
17th Feb 2005 - Colchester & NE Essex Pub-Of-The-Year
Results
After another close-run competition, the final results for our local
Pub-of-the-Year are now in.
Runner up was the Odd One Out, Colchester,
an annual favorite with the branch, winning countless awards over the years.
I'm sure John Parrick,
the landlord, with still be blown away by the accolade.
The winner of the years
award is.....The Red Lion, Kirby-le-Soken,
run by Steve & Ruth Munn.
What's impressive about the winners, Steve & Ruth, is that they've
only been in the pub business for 15th months.
Talking to Steve, he said, "I used to be a police officer in the
London, Barking area. After I was forced to retire through injury we
discussed our options, and decided to follow our ambitions of becoming licensees."
Steve continued, "I heard about the Red Lion coming onto the market,
and after viewing the property, knew this was the place for us.
As you can imagine, we're both over the moon with the award from the
Colchester branch of CAMRA. This is a great accolade and shows you that the
hard work does pay off."
One of the Red Lion's customers commented, "....I
wish I lived closer....". He currently lives 2 doors away!
Nigel Mullinder, Chairperson of Colchester CAMRA said, "After
many months of selection and final voting, Steve came out the clear winner.
Everyone in the branch is delighted for Steve & Ruth, and we hope they
keep up the standards, and impress us as much in next years
competition."
Well done to Steve & Ruth - see you both very soon.
This year sees the introduction
of the Committee Award.
This is presented (or not) by the branch
committee members to any pub in our area that we feel has excelled in the previous
12 months.
This can be for an improvement in quality or range, extraordinary
efforts to promote Real Ale or CAMRA, or anything else we find to be an outstanding
achievement.
This years award is presented to the New Bell Inn, Harwich.
The committee
felt the New Bell had improved it's beer quality and range over and above any
other, and stands out as a shining example to other pubs that even within a
quiet area, you can offer your customers excellent choice in the beer they drink.
Congratulations
again to all our winners. We're organising visits to all the POTY winners over
the next few months, so keep an eye on the Diary
page for more information.
17th Feb 2005 - National Pub Of The Year 2005
CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, today announced that the Fat
Cat in Norwich, Norfolk, has won the prestigious 'National Pub of the Year' title
- the only pub to have been voted best pub in Britain twice since the competition
began in 1988!
The National Pub of the Year competition analyses all the criteria
that makes a good pub including the quality of the beer, atmosphere, décor,
customer service and welcome and value for money. The award will be presented
to the pub on Wednesday 16th February in the build up to National Pubs Week
which starts on Saturday 19th February.
The Fat Cat is described in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide 2005 as an "Ale drinkers' paradise.
This award winning pub serves a range of ales; the tap room can be seen behind
the bar.
Up to 25 guest beers include one mild and a dark ale, sourced from
leading breweries around the country.
Themed weeks are held throughout the year.
The pub stocks up to 30 Belgian bottled beers, plus six on tap.
CAMRA's National
Pub of the Year in 1998, its popularity ranges from locals to students; visitors
to Norwich should not miss it.
Bob Stukins, CAMRA's Pubs Director and one of
the final judges said, "The Fat Cat is a great example of what can be done when thought and effort combined with the knowledgeable skill of staff all come together in the surroundings of a well-planned pub. But as with most pubs the customers have to be made to
feel part of the whole equation. The overall experience made me wish I lived much nearer to Norwich than I do!"
Colin Keatley, owner of the Fat Cat said, "I am overwhelmed at winning the National
Pub of the Year award for the second time. I am just about to open a new pub
in Norwich so this news could not have come at a better time! To be voted best
pub in Britain for the first time in 1998 was some achievement, but to run and
own the only pub in Britain that has won this award twice is just unbelievable.
We have run a good operation at the Fat Cat for over 14 years and my wife and
I would like to thank all the staff and locals for their support - without them
this wouldn't be possible!"
Mr Keatley plans to open a new pub called the Shed
in Lawson Road, Norwich in April.
There will be a small brewery adjoining the
pub, called the Fat Cat Brewery Company, that will brew some of its own beer
to sell at his two pubs.
The National Pub of the Year award will be presented
in the run up to National Pubs Week which starts on Saturday 19th February.
The
aim of this campaign is to encourage more people to visit pubs more regularly
at this quiet time of the year for the pub trade.
6th Feb 2005 - Full Pint Campaign
CAMRA are re-launching their Full Pints campaign.
As consumers,
we loose out on millions of pounds a year and have to accept short measures because
of government policy, which says that a pint only has to be 95% liquid. This
equates to around 10p on EVERY pint served up in this way.
Are you willing
to throw your cash away like this, or do you think that actually, everyone's
being ripped off and the Government are sitting idly by.
It's time that we made
a stand on this issue.
When you buy a loaf of bread, you don't expect 2 slices
to be missing from the end.
When you buy petrol, you don't expect to pour the
last litre into a 'Give this back to BP' bucket.
So, why do you accept a short
measure on something you probably purchase at least every week?
If you feel, as
we do, that this practice has to stop, then join CAMRA and lobby your local MP.
To
make this a simple task, CAMRA will send the email or letter on your behalf.
All
you have to do is to complete your details on this
simple page and hit Send.
What could be simpler.
You can find out more by visiting the CAMRA
National Website but remember, DON'T LET THE GOVERNMENT DICATE YOUR
LIFE!
6th Feb 2005 - Jennings Competition Winner
Well done to Janet Davies, who won this months online competition sponsored
by Jennings Brewery.
Janet wins a mixed case of Jennings bottled beers.
You too can win just like
Janet, by simply entering one of our regular competitions. It's free to enter,
you don't need to register and you don't need to be a scientist to answer the
questions!
Simply log on and click the Competition link under Fun
and Games or on
the front page.
Competitions run most months, for approximately two months
each.
All the we ask is you leave us your email address, so we can contact
you if you win.
6th Feb 2005 - New Social Sec
Congratulations (or commiserations) to Mark Whybrow in his new roll as
Branch Social Secretary!
Mark has taken over the reigns from Dave Nunn, leaving
Dave to get on with the organising of Colchester Beer Festival.
Mark already has
a very good line-up of trips and events on the go, so we all look forward to
seeing what else he can come up with.
All I can say is if you have one, hide
'yer bike!
If you have an idea for a trip or social event, or want to find out
about something we're already running, please do get in touch with Mark.
The more ideas we have for social events the branch really wants, the
better.
5th Feb 2005 - Old Tom Wins
Robinson's Old Tom won the accolade, Supreme Champion Winter Beer 2005 at
the CAMRA National Winter Ale Festival in Manchester.
Old Tom is a "Dark, rich and warming superior barley wine", and
has an ABV of 8.5%, so steady as it goes then!
Our friends from the Stockport
Branch had this to say about Old Tom....
"There have certainly been a few 'Old Toms' in breweries over the years, some with two legs, but the more familiar variety had four legs, a bushy tail and wide whiskers. The one thing that was certain about 'Old Tom' was that he never got lost in a brewery and always knew the best place to hide and relax during the cold winter months of the year. Once found, the first feature you noticed was his smile, very sly, with one eye half closed as depicted on the label on a bottle of Robinson's Old Tom. Of course Old Tom was the famous brewery cat. Sadly, modern hygiene regulations have now outlawed the brewery cat, but its memory lives on in the form of a high
quality strong ale."
Robinson's Old Tom is almost as old as the brewery itself. Records show
that it was entered into the Head Brewer's hand-written notebook in 1899,
charmingly illustrated with the cat's face, where it revealed the original
gravity to be 1096.
In those days it was available on draught only and was
dry hopped at a rate of 12 ounces per barrel!
It is still brewed with the same
meticulous care, using only the finest quality materials, to produce a smooth
mellow ale with a dark winey colour.
The original gravity is nowadays 1080 (giving
8.5% ABV) using all malt grist comprised of Halcyon Pale Ale, Crystal and Chocolate
malts. Only the finest East Kent Golding Hops are used in the copper and for
dry hopping the casks at the rate of 2 ounces per barrel.
The CAMRA Real Ale
Drinkers guide describes the Old Tom of today as being a dark, rich and warming
barley wine. Tasting notes refer to the product having "Heady vinous aromas
of dark fruit" with a palette which
has a 'booming' balance of ripe malt and peppery hops and a deep port wine
finish.
It was available in cask form all year round until last year, when it
was decided to rest it from June to August.
"It's difficult to get people
to drink an 8.5% barley wine at the height of summer, so we decided to stop
brewing it in May and reintroduced it every 1 September." said Chris
Hellins, Robinson's Head Brewer.
The good news is, Old Tom is available in
bottles, all year round, from a growing number of supermarkets.
The reputation
that Robinson's Old Tom carries before it is second to none - perhaps we should
warn all future 'Young Toms' to handle this product with caution and extreme
care!"
More information is available on the Robinson's web site at www.frederic-robinson.com.
5th Feb 2005 - New Brewery Online
Mersea Island Vineyards,
a well known local wine producer stepped into a new field this last month, by
producing their first commercial beers
Brewed under Mersea Island Brewery
(MIB), the beers were available at the Cambridge Winter Beer Festival recently.
MIB
had been experimenting with various brews before Christmas, but have now found
their own unique brand and hope to expand production through the year.
Beers
will be available in selected pubs on Mersea Island to begin with, and then other
outlets as the operation grows.
Nigel Mullinder, Chairman of the local CAMRA
branch said, "It's great
to finally see more breweries returning to Colchester. We have a fine
history of brewing in and around the town, but only one brewery at the
Railway Tavern to our name.
As many people will know, a group of us have been
successfully brewing at Nethergates for the past few years, and we're glad to
help Mersea Island Vineyards in any way we can".
We'll be organising a trip
out to the brewery as soon as they're ready, so watch the diary pages for details.
5th Feb 2005 - Fine Ale Supper
Dignitaries gathered together at Colchester Town Hall to enjoy a supper organised
by the Mersea Real Ale Club.
The Mayor and ayoress, John and Shelagh Bouckley,
can be see here raising a toast with Ridley's ales.
The event was organised
to raise money for the Mayor's charities.
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