Wakefield's Black Rock & Beer Exchange

Wakefield Westgate railway station

Most of the Wakefield pubs featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide are closed at 2pm on a Monday. However, the Black Rock was open and only a short walk from Wakefield Westgate station, so after leaving the train from Kings Cross, I headed there via Cheapside and Silver Street.

The Black Rock 

The ceramic tiled exterior give the Black Rock a distinctive look and research shows that it was originally a Melbourne Ales (Leeds) public house.

The Wakefield Civic Society blue plaque under the decorative window records that John Potter (1674-1747), a former Archbishop of Canterbury, lived here as a boy in the family home above his father's draper's shop.

On the way to the bar, an engraved CAMRA mirror and a beer board showing six cask ales give a favourable impression.

A half pint of Kelham Island Easy Rider was served through a sparkler, to give a creamy head, for the reasonable charge of £1.30.

From a comfortable seat at the furthest point from the entrance I could survey the main room of the pub, decorated with views of the city and mainly populated with older men. A succession of classic 1960s pop songs playing on the pub's decent sound system appealed to my ears and compensated for the lack of conversation.

Wakefield Beer Exchange

 

A conveniently placed pedestrian crossing makes it easy to reach Wakefield Beer Exchange on the north side of Bull Ring, opposite the Black Rock.

A  blackboard in the doorway mentions 6 cask ales and keg beers are available at the 'Beer Cafe & Bottle Shop'.

The exterior and interior of Wakefield Beer Exchange and the Black Rock are about as different from each other as it is possible to get! The same probably applies to their respective clienteles although it was quiet here on a Monday afternoon.

A changing exhibit of original art adorns the walls at the Wakefield Beer Exchange. In March prints by Ron Wilson were on display.

My first half pint was Fox Glove by Slightly Foxed (£1.55). The bad news is that the beer is more expensive than at the Black Rock but the good news is that 1/3 pint glasses are available so it is still possible to try the keg beers without major expense.

The beer exchange was quiet so I was able to have a chat with the barman. It was great to discover that Adam was familiar with the End of the Road festival and festival bars operated by The Really Good Bar Co. I hope to meet up with Adam again at the 2016 End of the Road festival.

I persuaded Adam to pose for a photo with a copy of Ullage, the West Berkshire CAMRA branch quarterly magazine which I edit.

Wakefield Beer Exchange is associated with The Revolutions Brewing Co and many of the beers served at the bar have been obtained by beer exchanges with this brewery, hence it's name.

Before leaving to catch a train to Leeds, I enjoyed a third pint of Chinook, Southern Cross and Bravo IPA, a collaboration beer between Northern Alchemy and dAt bAr brewed in Newcastle.

The Google map above shows the position of the two bars. Click on the link to see photos of places passed on the way from Wakefield Westgate station.

I will try and time my next visit to Wakefield for after 4pm when the majority of pubs open. However, an earlier start would give me a welcome opportunity to revisit the Black Rock and Wakefield Beer Exchange!

Bell St Brewery, Henley-on-Thames - Honey Bee launch

The Brakspear brewery at New Street, Henley-on-Thames, closed in October 2002. Brakspear Bitter (3.4% ABV), Brakspear Oxford Gold (4.0% ABV) and Brakspear Triple (6.7% ABV) are now brewed by Wychwood (owned by Marston's PLC) in Witney.

Brakspear has 145 pubs including the Bull on Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames. In January 2013, the pub was refurbished and opened on 29 March 2013 with a new 4 barrel brewery visible through internal windows of the rear dining room. Malcolm Mayo, formerly Quality Manager at Wychwood Brewery, is the Head Brewer of Brakspear's Bell Street Brewery.
Brakspear Special (4.3% ABV) is the regular beer brewed at the Bell St Brewery. It has been brewed by Brakspear for over 40 years and the original recipe is still followed.

The latest beer to be brewed at Bell St Brewery is Honey Bee (4.4% ABV) a golden ale brewed with honey from beehives at Orwells, a Brakspear pub near Shiplake, renowned for its good food. 20p from every pint of Honey Bee sold is donated to The Bee Cause organised by the Friends of the Earth.

A pint of Honey Bee and a beehive from Orwells

At the Bell St Brewery Honey Bee launch event on 31 March organised by Shiel Porter, I enjoyed the opportunity to taste the beer and tour the brewery with Liam Trotman and Ryan Simpson of Orwells.
We entered the brewery from the courtyard and were greeted by Head Brewer, Malcolm Mayo.

Fermenting vessels in back room of the brewery

One of the fermenting vessels contained a recently brewed beer and was frothing over at the top as the yeast worked to convert sugar into alcohol. Malcolm described the brewing process and showed us some of the malt and hops used. As well as the honey from Orwells, and Willamette hops, about 5% of the malt used is from oats and about 95% is from barley, including Maris Otter pale malt, for the Honey Bee recipe.
Malcolm explained that the honey needed melting in the kitchen before it could be used. About 20kg of honey is used in each 4 barrel To maximise the natural honey flavours in the beer, most of the honey is added at the end of the boil in the copper, after the addition of some late hops and cold water. Some sterile honey was also added to the fermenting vessel at a later stage. Malcolm showed us some leaf hops from the chest freezer where opened foil packets of hops are stored to keep them fresh.

Malcolm Mayo (left, by the Mash Tun), Liam Trotman and Ryan Simpson (R)

We moved into the 'window' part of the brewery and here Malcolm showed us the Hot Liquor Tank, the Mash Tun with a sparge arm inside and the Copper which is heated by electricity.

Paul de Zylva (L) and Tom Davies (R) with brewery behind

Back in the dining room, with refreshed glasses, we now heard from Paul de Zylva, Friends of the Earth, about The Bee Cause campaign, which is supported by several organisations with Bee Worlds including the Co-Operative Group, Marks & Spencer and Brakspear pubs. It was interesting to learn that there are 266 species of bumblebee and solitary bee but only 1 species of honeybee.
Paul mentioned that since a Bee Summit organised by Friends of the Earth 2013, the UK Government agreed to introduce a National Pollinator Strategy. After his speech, Tom Davies, Brakspear's Chief Executive thanked Paul and presented him with a Brakspear tie featuring their trademark bee. Wendy Gupta and Saminder Kharay from Friends of the Earth wore bee outfits and make an eye catching contribution to the launch.

Honey Bee will be available on draught from Orwells, the Bull on Bell Street and several other Brakspear pubs in Henley and the local area including the Dew Drop, Hurley and the White Hart, Nettlebed.

Further Links:
Brakspear story about Honey Bee, including list of pubs where the beer is available: Brakspear News (1 April 2015)
History of the Bell St Brewery: Brewing in Henley
Brakspear Brewery History: Brewing in Witney

Hopcraft Brewing Tap Takeover at the Nag's Head, Reading

The Nag's Head, Russell Street, Reading commemorated their seventh birthday under the joint ownership of Meeko, Jody, Lola, Sylvia and Ted on 19 Feb 2014 with a Tap Takeover and Meet The Brewer night featuring Hopcraft Brewing. The Nag's Head was the Central Southern region CAMRA pub of the year in 2013.

CAMRA awards on display inside the Nag's Head, Reading

Hopcraft Brewing was formed in Pontyclun, South Wales, in October 2012 when Tom and Steve from Pixie Spring Brewery, based at the nearby Wheatsheaf, Llantrisant, joined up with Gazza from Steel City Brewing, Sheffield, to take on new (1860 sq ft) premises and install a 12 barrel brewplant, sourced from Norfolk.

L to R: Ted, Jody (Nag's Head), Gazza, Tom (Hopcraft Brewing)

The brewers, Tom Barlow, a Cornishman, and Gazza Prescott were both at the Nag's Head to join the pub's birthday party and talk about the brewery and their beers. Twelve Hopcraft and Pixie Spring beers from the brewery were available with two served straight from the cask (Black Nag (5.5% ABV) - a smoked black IPA testbrew and Pondicherry IPA (6.3% ABV) - a testbrew flavoured with Assam and Earl Grey tea).

Gazza can be spotted in the background with a glass!

A group from West Berkshire CAMRA visited the Nag's Head and enjoyed sampling a variety of beers and chatting to Tom and Gazza who were to be found wearing Hopcraft t-shirts at the end of the bar near the log fire. Tom was asked about the naming of Pondicherry IPA and his answer was that this was due to liking the name of the Indian city featuring in the film 'Life of Pi' rather than any connection with tea growing. We also learned that few of their beers are supplied to local pubs with the exception of Cardiff. The beers go mainly to pubs in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and Reading. Their market is pubs that appreciate real ale and especially the hoppier ones. The Shoulder of Mutton, Wantage, the Central Southern region of CAMRA pub of the year in 2012, regularly takes beers from Hopcraft Brewing.

Sucker Punch pumpclip and a pint of Hop Secret 4

The writer enjoyed a pint of Hop Secret 4, a pale beer brewed with a brand-new English test hop giving the beer some tropical fruit and a citrussy, dry bitterness. Hopcraft Brewing on facebook reveals that the secret hop used was CF127.

Other beers on handpump (above) included Simcoe Plus (5.4% ABV) very pale with clementine marmalade flavours, Cruxshadow (4.9% ABV), a dark and smoky winter brew and The Boss a golden ale featuring multi-layered hops and bitterness. The pumpclip for (Spring -  Steel's) The Boss shows the Pixie Spring logo at the top and 'A collaboration with Steel City Brewing' at the base. The post for 31 October 2013 on the Hopcraft Brewing blog mentions that The Boss was a collab between Tom and Gazza in the Wheatsheaf cellar and started off this whole brewery business!

Gazza's posts in the Hopcraft Brewing blog are well worth reading as they give the full story of the initial set up of the brewery as well as details of the beers that have been brewed. Navigate using the 'Older Posts' at the bottom of each page to find the earliest post 'Welcome to our World' on 27 October 2012, if you are interested in the full story of constructing a brewery from scratch.

The 'Hopcrafty Seventh Birthday' at the Nag's Head also included free food later in the evening. Ted brought large pans of hot food out from the kitchen. A queue quickly formed and Ted dished up bowls of chilli to the pub's hungry staff and customers.

Hopcraft Gazza (front left), Nag's Head Jody (back centre) and staff

Links to the brewery's blog, facebook group and twitter: www.hopcraftbrewing.co.uk
A map and details of the beers and ciders currently available at the pub: www.nagsheadreading.co.uk

Bridgnorth & Bewdley

One of the benefits of volunteer work at Oxford CAMRA beer festival is a place on a coach trip some months after the festival. The trip for 2013 helpers was to Bridgnorth and Bewdley on Saturday 15 March, 2014.

Arriving at the Severn Valley Railway station, Bridgnorth

 

White Lion, Bridgnorth

We eventually arrived in Bridgnorth just before 1pm, having departed Oxford at 10am. Most of the party set off for the Railwaymans Arms but Steve and I walked quickly up the steep hill of Railway Street to reach the High Town.

The first pub we visited was the White Lion in West Castle Street. We made the mistake of entering by the front door and having to push a way through to the bar as the pub was packed with rugby fans watching a Six Nations game on TV.

From the choice of six cask ales, I ordered a Twisted Spire by Hobsons Brewery of Cleobury Mortimer, a distance of about twelve miles.

Hobsons - Twisted Spire

This is a refreshing pale (3.6% ABV) beer with hop flavours and some sweetness. It is named after the twisted spire of St Mary the Virgin church in Cleobury Mortimer. We had taken our beers outside to a sheltered courtyard area with a view of murals of Bridgnorth and the surrounding countryside.

We could also see the door to the Hop & Stagger Brewery, set up by the Hayes family who took over the pub in 2007. Steve had already sampled their Simpson's Special Edition so I ordered a half pint of Hop & Stagger Golden Wander (4.1% ABV) from the brewery tap.

The Old Castle, Bridgnorth

It was only a few yards walk south along West Castle Street to reach a second pub featured in the 2014 Good Beer Guide - the Old Castle.

I was pleased to find another beer from Hobsons Brewery available here and ordered a Town Crier (4.5% ABV), a full flavoured golden ale.

We headed out to the pub's sizeable garden which has elevated views to the west of the town from a platform at its far end.

Garden of the Old Castle, Bridgnorth

The delayed arrival of our coach meant there was less time to explore the town than we had hoped. It was now time to return downhill to Bridgnorth station where I would catch the 3pm coach to Bewdley and Steve would travel there by train.

The Railwaymans Arms, Bridgnorth

 However, there was still time for a beer at the Railwaymans Arms, housed in the refreshment rooms of the Severn Valley Railway station at Bridgnorth.

The well stocked bar offered a good variety of beers including a Black Country ale that I had been eager to taste - Bathams Best Bitter.

Batham's Best Bitter - 2nd handpump from left. Railwaymans Arms, Bridgnorth

Bathams Brewery is based in Brierley Hill. Their best bitter (4.3% ABV) is 'a straw-coloured bitter which initially seems sweet, but a complex dry, hoppy taste soon predominates' and it is deservedly popular.

The interior of the pub features an impressive collection of railway signs and framed posters.
We took our beers outside on the station platform to enjoy the view of working steam and diesel locomotives.

Steve would have more of this view of Bridgnorth station as his train was delayed while I was travelling to Bewdley by coach.

There were fine westward views from the coach towards Ludlow on the way to Bewdley, another town on the river Severn. After a coffee break, I walked to the High Street passing St Anne's parish church.

The Little Pack Horse Inn, Bewdley

Some way along the High Street, is the Little Pack Horse Inn which has a painted sign on the front of the building instead of a hanging sign.

Little Pack Horse Inn, Bewdley

The Little Pack Horse Inn is in the 2014 Good Beer Guide and is a cosy, traditional pub.

Golden ales and 'Ullage' at the Little Pack Horse Inn

This was a chance to catch up with a group from the Oxford CAMRA party and hand out remaining copies of 'Ullage', the West Berkshire CAMRA newsletter. 

As it is brewed nearby, I ordered a Worcestershire Way (3.6% ABV) from Bewdley Brewery. A lovely pale straw colour, it is brewed with First Gold, Celeia  and Fuggles hops. Steve arrived soon afterwards, having  walked from Bewdley railway station, on the other side of the river Severn. It would soon be time to catch the coach at 6pm for the return journey to Oxford. Walking back to Load Street, there were some lovely skies to be seen over the town.

Bewdley, Worcestershire

Thanks to everyone involved for a great day out in Bridgnorth and Bewdley. It's days like these that make volunteer work for the Campaign for Real Ale especially worthwhile.

 

Nottingham Pubs

Here is a record of some Nottingham pubs visited on 16 March, 2013 on a day trip by coach from Oxford with a group of helpers from the Oxford CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) beer festival. Thanks to everyone in Oxford CAMRA for organising this enjoyable trip. Thanks also to Nottingham CAMRA for the helpful map of the city showing pubs and for negotiating discounts at some of the pubs for CAMRA Members.

1. The Canalhouse - a Castle Rock Brewery pub.

Two narrowboats inside the Canalhouse!

Canalside view of the Canalhouse with boat access on right.

2. Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem - a Greene King pub near the castle.

Lots of nooks and crannies inside Ye Olde Tip to Jerusalem.

3. The Roundhouse - a freehouse. Previously part of the hospital.

The Roundhouse - interior. Salad bar on right.

4. The Organ Grinder. A Blue Monkey pub. Previously the Red Lion.

Guerilla & BG Sips (BG for Brewers Gold) - Two of the Blue Monkey beers.

Blue Monkey 'Infinity' - my favourite beer of the day.

 

4. Hand and Heart. Freehouse. Sister pub to the Roundhouse.

Hand and Heart - 1st floor.

CAMRA members inside the Hand and Heart. Caves on ground floor.

5. Malt Cross. Free House.

Glass roof at the Malt House.

View from 1st floor of Malt House. Previously a Music Hall.

6. Cross Keys. Navigation Brewery pub.

7. Kean's Head. Castle Rock Brewery pub.

Bar at Kean's Head.

All aboard! The coach back to Oxford loading at Nottingham bus station.