Tryanuary trail from Waterloo to London Bridge

On Saturday 25 January 2020, Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) members from branches in the Central Southern region gathered met in South London to visit pubs on an itinerary planned by John McLaughlin (Milton Keynes & North Bucks CAMRA).
A group from West Berkshire followed the itinerary for the first three pubs before making a detour and then rejoining the main group at Harvey's London pub - the Royal Oak (RO).

Waterloo Tap (WT)

Allan Brooke (W Berkshire CAMRA) & Allan Willoughby (Slough, Windsor & Maidenhead CAMRA)

The Waterloo Tap, underneath the railway arches to the south of Hungerford Bridge, was the first bar for a rendezvous. Six cask ales are served from taps in the central area behind the bar. The pale hazy Moor Nor'Hop was a popular choice.
This was a good opportunity to hear from Allan Willoughby about arrangements for the 2020 Maidenhead Beer & Cider Festival which will be held at Maidenhead Rugby Football Club, Braywick Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1BN, a 10 minute walk from the station, on the 24 / 25 July.

Various German beer signs and and a row of traditional beer steins are displayed in the arched space.
There was also an opportunity to meet Carl Griffin, Central Southern CAMRA's Regional Director.

Richard Scullion & Andy Pinkard

There was a chance for Andy Pinkard, West Berkshire CAMRA Chairman to meet up with his predecessor, Richard Scullion, now mainly resident in Eastbourne, who also adopted our modified itinerary for the day.

The route from the Waterloo tap to the second pub was via Roupell Street, featuring terraced houses and several classic Citroen cars.

Kings Arms (KA)

Having arrived earlier, Simon Grist (Berkshire South East CAMRA) took the opportunity to photo bomb the West Berkshire CAMRA group photo from the entrance to the pub! The others featured in the photo and not previously named are Chris Reynolds and Frank Jesset.

Inside, the beer range included Flying Monk Brewery's Dark Lane milk stout from Malmesbury and Kent Brewery's Apollo single hopped ale.

Berkshire South East CAMRA stalwarts Barry Garber and Terry Burrows found a warm place to stand near the fireplace in this traditional corner pub that was soon filled with CAMRA members.
The pedestrian route to the third pub, goes along Windmill Walk, underneath the platforms of Waterloo East station and then past the side of the Old Vic theatre along Webber Street.

Stage Door (SD)

Brewed in the Cuckmere Valley, Sussex, Long Blonde from Long Man Brewery was the hoppy beer chosen by most of our group guided by Richard Scullion who plans his visits to the brewery's tasting room on Fridays to benefit from a free welcome pint.

Seen at the bar, Tony Girling and Mark Thompson made two more members from West Berkshire to join our group. An interesting feature of the Stage Door's decor is retro home movie cameras, adapted as light fixtures, on side walls.
Breaking from the main group on leaving the Stage Door, our walking route followed Webber Street as it arcs eastwards.

This led to Southwark Bridge Road and then Mint Street into a small park and then north on Ayres Street passing the Lord Clyde, a traditional corner pub, regularly featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide but closed for refurbishment after a change of ownership.

Rose & Crown

Richard, Mike, Mark, Tony, Allan and Frank

This longest walking stretch led us to the Rose & Crown on the corner with Union Street.

Neon signs for PubLove and Hostel indicate that this pub is now part of the PubLove chain of seven pubs which feature upstairs hostel accommodation and a Burger Craft kitchen - Beers, Burgers and Beds.
Mike Avery perused the menu at the bar before ordering 'Fries' that were served in a dimple pint mug.
Mike was disappointed to miss the Five Pound Lunch offer which is only served from Monday until Wednesday at lunchtimes.
Three cask ales were available including Titanic Plum Porter.
A short walk east along Union Street and across Borough High Street into Newcomen Street led to the fifth pub.

Kings Arms (KA)

The Kings Arms features polished brass details and five cask ales. It featured in John McLaughlin's itinerary but our out of turn arrival avoided any congestion. St Peter's Hop It reached the end of the barrel with our order and substituting Harvey's Sussex Best acted as a taster for the beer range at the next pub we would visit.

The pedestrian route via Tennis Street led through an estate of flats and then into Tabard Street. We passed a workshop where Master Woodcarver Hugh Weddeburn could be seen carving with chisels. Andy went inside for a brief chat with Hugh before we arrived at our sixth pub.

Royal Oak (RO)

Allan, Andy, Mike, Richard, Tony and Frank outside The Royal Oak, Tabard Street.

Despite our plan to arrive at the Royal Oak before the main group, we found that others had beaten us to claim the tables in the main bar area.

Retreating to the smaller back bar, a wait for beer followed as only one member of staff was available to serve beer and perform cellar tasks.
As well as the deservedly popular Sussex Best Bitter, a range of other beers from the brewery included Armada Ale and Christmas Ale.
As members from other branches arrived but no relief beer staff, we decided to cut short our planned longer stay at the Royal Oak and fit in one more pub from the original itinerary instead.

Old Kings Head (OKH)

The Old Kings Head is accessed through an archway on the east side of Borough High Street into Kings Head Yard. There was a chance to get a photo of the outside of the pub with its stained glass windows in the remaining daylight before being invited to enter.
In contrast to the Royal Oak, the Old Kings Head was teeming with staff behind the spacious bar serving area and service was quick and efficient. The beer range included beers from St Austell Brewery and Harvey's Brewery.
There was music playing on the sound system and quite a lively atmosphere which would perhaps appeal more to young customers.

With some needing to catch trains from Waterloo and others from Paddington, the nearby entrance to London Bridge underground station provided the easiest access route to start the journey home after an enjoyably social day of tasting beers and discovering some 'off the beaten track' streets of South London during 'Tryanuary'.

Brakspear brewery tour with Reading CAMRA

Thanks to Reading CAMRA, Quinten Taylor and the Clifton Arms in Caversham for the opportunity to join a trip to Witney for a Brakspear /Wychwood Brewery tour on Saturday 23 November, 2019.

Quinno's joining instructions mention 'We will be departing from the car park at the Clifton Arms in Caversham at 12 noon sharp - we won't wait around for stragglers, so make every effort to be a few minutes early. The pub will be open to prior to departure from 11am. As they have been instrumental in helping us secure this tour, please consider getting drink before or after the trip to show your appreciation.'

Following these instructions gave me a chance to drink a half pint of Brakspear Gravity (recently rebadged Brakspear Bitter), before boarding the minibus in the pub's car park.
Departure was delayed until 11.10am but one missing member failed to arrive. About 20 minutes later Quinno received a phone call to say that the latecomer had seen our minibus driving off from a short distance away. An otherwise uneventful journey, via Swinford toll bridge, resulted in our arrival at the brewery by 12.15pm.

An iconic, carved Hobgoblin figure stands at the public entrance to the brewery and taproom.

We entered and ordered beers from the bar in the cellar taproom. The bar prices charged here are reasonable eg £1.70 for half pint of Brakspear Gravity.

Chris, our tour guide, would later tell us that the taproom has been open to the public for 9 months and that the circular floor of the original Brakspear mash tun is now repurposed as a feature of the taproom floor (photo above).

The taproom was busy but I found a stool to sit on facing Quinno (photo).

When it was time for our tour, we headed for the bar reserved for tour groups, passing some members who would rejoin the main group after finding space in the overflow seating area for the taproom.

The passage leading to the tour group bar passes some framed original pastel artwork used for subtly advertising Brakspear beer.

As part of the tour, Chris poured us our choice of beer before giving an introductory talk about the history of the brewery.
Brewing started at the Eagle Brewery premises in Witney in 1831 as Clinch & Co.. In those days there was also a maltings and a stables associated with the brewery. In 1961 Courage bought Clinch & Co for its pub estate and closed down the brewery. In 1983 Paddy Glenny rented part of the site and established Glenny Brewery. Chris Moss took over and changed the name to Wychwood Brewery in 1989. Beers were named after Wychwood Forest myths and legends with Hobgoblin as the best known ruby beer.
The brewery was taken over by Refresh UK, a subsidiary of Marston's in 2002. Marston's bought Refresh and Wychwood Brewery outright in 2008. Jon Tillson was appointed Head Brewer in 2018.

The Cross Keys, Witney, was the original home of Brakspear Brewery. In 1769, Robert Brakspear became the pub landlord and this is where Brakspear Bitter was first brewed. In 1779, Robert and his uncle Richard Hayward moved to the Bell Street brewery in Henley-on-Thames. in 1812, the brewery moved to New Street in Henley.

In 2002, Brakspear moved away from direct brewing and its beers were brewed under licence at Wychwood Brewery in Witney. Vessels including the top of the copper and the double drop fermenting vessels were moved from Henley to Witney.
Chris mentioned that bottling and kegging for Wychwood and Brakspear beers has been done at Marston's in Burton-upon-Trent for some years but that more recently casking has also moved there. A tanker takes beer from the brewery to Burton leaving at 4am.

Chris led us into the brewery for the tour.

Standing in front of the white grist cage, Chris pointed out some other equipment including the red roller mill. The whirlpool is on the left of the photo above. He explained that separate yeast strains are used for Wychwood and Brakspear beers which are stored separately.

We walked to the other side of the building and Chris showed us some Isinglass from Brazilian lumpfish that is used for fining beer. There is a framed poster, showing the layout of the brewery. Chris also passed round small containers of different malts to taste and hops to sniff.

We were standing near the wooden steps to a platform around the Copper which has an open chimney above. The next stage was to climb the steps for a view of the rest of the brewery.

A large square shaped vessel at the back on the left is the Hot Liquor Tank. The nearer, circular vessel is the mash tun. Chris explained the brewing process and mentioned that the capacity of the Copper is 29,000 pints and that there are 10 brews per week.

The final stage was to see the Double Drop fermentation system used exclusively for Brakspear beers.

Chris explained that the wort is fed from the copper to the whirlpool and then via a heat exchanger to the circular top fermenting vessel where it rests for four hours. It is then allowed to drop, by gravity, into the square vessels below for the final fermentation period. The drop process adds some oxygen and also allows some sediment to be left behind in the top vessel.

The final part of our visit was an opportunity to taste a variety of bottled beers produced at Wychwood brewery. Chris opened a pair of bottles which were passed around our group to pour and then taste and offer comments about the flavours and ingredients. On this occasion, we tasted Arrowaine (3.6% ABV Mild), Brakspear Oxford Gold (4.6% ABV), Imperial Red (4.7% ABV brewed with Scottish rolled oats), King Goblin (6.6% ABV brewed with chocolate, crystal and pale malts), Black Wych (5% ABV also brewed with Scottish rolled oats) and Bah Humbug! (5% ABV spiced with cinnamon and cloves).
We learned that many of the distinctive label designs for Wychwood beers like Hobgoblin and Black Wych are the work of artist Ed Org.
There are various historic mementos in the brewery tour bar.

Chris told us about Piledriver, a beer named after Status Quo's fifth album. The giant label is signed by members of the band.

We also heard about the framed photo of the occasion when David Cameron presented Barack Obama with a bottle of Hobgoblin in 2011.
Our guide Chris had plenty of other interesting tales and some good jokes and earned our thanks after answering remaining questions before it was time to leave, nearly two hours after the start of the tour. Before leaving we were each given a souvenir half pint Wychwood beer glass.

Finally, there was a chance to visit the store which has merchandise and a large range of bottled beers at reasonable prices.

Details from 2019 Wychwood Brewery taproom, store & tours leaflet:
Brewery Store: Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm
Wychwood Brewery Tap: Wed, Thu 5pm - 10pm; Fri 2pm - 10pm; Sat 12pm - 10pm, Sun 12pm - 6pm
Tours: (£12 per person): Thu, Fri 3pm, 6pm; Sat 11am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 2pm, 4pm & 4.30pm; Sun 2pm & 2.30pm
Check availability and book at www.wychwood.co.uk

Wychwood Brewery, Eagle Maltings, The Crofts, Witney.  OX28 4DB
.

MoogBREW Taproom

A guest post by Alan Haselden, a CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) member who contributes articles to Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA magazine and to Out Inn Cheshire, the Cheshire CAMRA branches' magazine. Alan serves annually at CAMRA's Cheshire Beer Festival.

Margi and Id, owners of Taplow's moogBREW, warmly welcomed the Big Berkshire Ale Hike team during a break from their Thames Path jaunt on the final yet inclement day of British Summer Time.

Located some 10 minutes' walk of Taplow's railway station they brew a broad range of ale types and strengths mainly for key cask [live, cask conditioned ale in a bag within a plastic keg], bottles, cans and occasionally traditional cask. They tend to open to the public on selected Saturdays, which are indicated in advance on their website.

In their smart, snug timber outhouse, capacity barely a dozen, they were serving the 3.5% pale ale 'Wild Hop', the 6% IPA 'Bastard Bunny Strikes Back', the 6.2% speciality ale 'Pretty in Pink' and the 7% stout 'Fast Gerald's Stout'. 

The drizzly, blustery conditions kept us sitting indoors but during fine weather customers can relax in the extensive garden which is well stocked with benches and gazebos. Ale is served in two-third pint measures or less and each is assigned an amusing yet menacing cartoon pump clip. 

The smooth session ale 'Wild Hop' is made from hops picked by Margi from the surrounding countryside; the stout is a typical dry yet potent example but my firm favourite was the flamboyant 'Pretty in Pink', which is pale in colour and infused with pink peppercorn and juniper: its intricate flavour profile is a weaving of grassy, herby notes with touches of lavender and oil of bergamot that doesn't outstay its welcome. 

And I hope our team didn't outstay our welcome because we were there for nearly three hours enjoying the ale and conversing with the locals while the jukebox skanked joyfully through a endless stream of 1970's dub reggae. Well done Margi and Id. We shall be back.

Liverpool 2019 - Thursday 10 January

After a train journey from Newbury, with the weather turning misty from Birmingham, it was no surprise to find that the top of Liverpool's Radio City Tower (138 metres) was barely visible.

The Crown Hotel

After checking into my hotel on Hanover Street, opposite BBC Radio Merseyside, and buying a pair of gloves and a beanie hat to compensate for inadequate preparation, I returned to the Lime Street Station area to met up with Mark Geeson and friends at the Crown Hotel.

'Bod' and Mark at the Crown Hotel

Mark and the 'Farnham Travel' group had arrived earlier after spending two days visiting pubs and breweries in Burton upon Trent. The Coopers Tavern and the Tower Brewery were highlights of their trip.
The group had enjoyed good value lunches at the Crown before my arrival and were also happy with the beer quality. I enjoyed Hobsons Town Crier, from Shropshire, here.

Ian, the friendly landlord, explained to us that the award winning Siren Craft Brew Broken Dream breakfast stout had been specially obtained to cater for a CAMRA meeting at the pub later in the evening. Copies of MerseyAle, the magazine of Liverpool & District CAMRA, are available from the pub.

The Crown Hotel is spacious and has a comfortable feel with many interesting features.

From here we walked south east along Renshaw Street. Looking up, at the junction with Ranelagh Street, Sir Jacob Epstein's 1956 sculpture 'Liverpool Resurgent' on Lewis's (closed) store stands out on a prow. Known by locals as Dickie Lewis, the statue stands above a meeting place referenced in a song 'In My Liverpool Home' by Peter McGovern:
   "We speak with an accent exceedingly rare, 
    Meet under a statue exceedingly bare"

The Dispensary

We soon reached The Dispensary, at the junction with Oldham Street.

After a strong recommendation from a local at the bar, most people ordered White Rat from the Rat microbrewery which is situated under the Rat & Ratchet pub in Huddersfield.

I indulged in a favourite beer - Titanic Plum Porter served with a thick creamy head.

I also enjoyed the very pale White Rat as my second beer in the pleasant surroundings of the Dispensary which includes a variety of old enamel signs including 'Liverpool - Drive With Care' passed on the way to the Gents toilets.

The enamel signs even continue into the Gents!

The Roscoe Head

On leaving the pub we continued along Renshaw Street until the junction at St Luke's bombed out church where we turned left into Leece Street and found the Roscoe Head just around the corner into Roscoe Street.

The Roscoe Head is renowned as one of only five pubs that have appeared in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since it was first published in 1974. It's a cosy traditional pub with four rooms. Six cask ales are listed on the blackboard by the bar. My choice was American 5 Hop pale ale from Sheffield's Blue Bee Brewery.

The Fly in the Loaf

Although only 50 metres further east along Leece Street, our next destination would be very different. Derived from the 'No flies in the loaf' slogan once used by Kirklands Bakery, The Fly in the Loaf is a bar offering craft and cask beers as well as bread based food like pizza.

The bar space is lit by globe shape lights over the bar counter and concealed lighting in the mirror backed shelves of spirits behind the bar.

While some ordered food, I would soon head elsewhere for a meal, after enjoying a glass of Rooster's Brewing Co High Tea, a hazy jasmine green tea IPA.

Taking the scenic route to my alternative dining spot involved turning left (north) into Hope Street, passing the Philharmonic Dining Rooms and then the Everyman Theatre.

At the adjacent annexe of the Everyman, I stopped to get a photo of the entrance to the Pen Factory. Serving cask ale and small plates of food at basement level it is described as the reincarnation of the Everyman Bistro.

The distinctive form of (RC) Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral lies just north of the Everyman.
Returning to rejoin my friends after a meal and passing The Grapes in Roscoe Street I called in to ask if there would be any live music there and was advised that there would be jazz on Sunday evening.

Ye Cracke

By 8.45pm, Mark and friends had decamped to Ye Cracke, 13 Rice Street. An old illuminated sign topped by a red triangle bears the wording Bass in ornate red lettering with Ye Cracke in smaller black letters at the base. An unlit old Boddington sign is high above a doorway approached by steps.

Once inside, I ordered a pint of Billabong by Big Bog Brewing a Liverpool microbrewery.

Portraits of the individual Beatles are positioned high above the back of the bar.

Our group had a table in the main room where a large frame includes John Lennon memorabilia.

The pub was frequented by Liverpool College of Art students - John Lennon, his first girlfriend Thelma Pickles and The Dissenters (Bill Harry, John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe & Rod Murray) whose association is commemorated with a plaque.

Looking back towards the bar and side entrance a colourful panel depicting a battle in pop art style caught my eye. Research reveals the subject is Wellington greeting Marshal Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo.

There is a jukebox at Ye Cracke and during the evening some good tunes were played including Spanish Caravan (The Doors), Lola (The Kinks) and I'm Going Home (Ten Years After).

Around 10pm we called it a night and walked along Duke Street back to our hotel passing near the gateway to Chinatown on the way.