Hop Press

Issue 0 – February 1978

A rough scan & OCR of the original leaving out adverts & some sections such as the Crossword
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This is the earliest Hop Press I can find. It was 2 x A4 sheets labelled as issue 2, but we later had Hop Press Newsletters, with their own numbering sequence, then the A5 magazine format which again restarted the numbering - we have an Issue 2 from that sequence for May 1981. Anyway, here you are. The printed version has some graphics and the pub crawl map so see the pdf for those.

BEER NEWS

Ind Coope's Burton Ale and Bitter are now available in Eastleigh - the new Ind Coope house 'The Arrow', on the Boyatt Wood estate, offers both of these beers on handpumps.

Whilst on the subject of Eastleigh, it is worth noting that there are no less than ten beers available in and around the town; these come from six different breweries.

The 'King Rufus', at Eling, a former Good Beer Guide pub, has recently re-opened as a free house. Formerly a Whitbread pub, it is now owned by ex-'Saints' Captain, Peter Rodrigues. Peter has retained the Whitbread Trophy and Mild but has also added Bass on the handpumps.

Mitchell and Butler's D.P.A. can now be found in Hampshire for the first time, both at the 'Old Mill Inn', Holbury, and at 'Long's Wine Lodge' in Lymington High Street (where it has replaced Burton Ale).

How about this for a unique outlet for real ale? At the 'Latimer Tea Rooms', in Romsey, you can now enjoy the delights of Wadworth's 6X with your crumpets!

The 'Running Horse' (Marstons), in Alresford, has been converted back to hand-pumped ale. Pedigree, Burton Bitter and Mild are available.

Nearby, the 'Tichborne Arms', now made a free house, sells Wadworth's very popular 6X and their Old Timer, a winter brew with a gravity of 1053.

In Winchester we have lost the 'Southgate Hotel', the only Ind Coope house in the city. Sadly they have withdrawn Burton Ale only shortly after introducing it. On a brighter note, the 'Crown', in Jewry Street, now sell draught Owd Rodger - a move certain to delight one member of our Committee, who has been known to sample more than a few pints of this deadly brew!

The 'Wykeham Arms', in Kingsgate Street, now has Eldridge Pope's Royal Oak, thus correcting a mistake in our Hampshire Real Ale Guide.

'Jock', at the 'King Alfred' in Saxon Road, is now trying out Marston's Merrie Monk and Pedigree in addition to the Mild and Bitter, let's hope that they become permanent features.

The 'Fleur de Lys' in the quaint little village of Pilley, has joined the growing band of pubs selling Pompey Royal. Also now selling this fine beer are the 'Maypole', Botley, and the 'Plume of Feathers' in Saint Mary Street, Southampton. In fact, it is virtually impossible to keep track of the new 'Pompey' outlets in the county; there are probably many we are not yet aware of.

With the emergence of Pompey Royal in this area, it is noteworthy that a lot of pubs are selling the ale under CO2 blanket pressure - and although in theory this should not affect the taste - unfortunately, in practice, it usually does. I had the misfortune of experiencing this 'Whitbread fizzical' recently and it is not something I would wish on anyone!

Some of you may have heard the rumour that Nobby and Sheila are leaving the 'Junction' at St. Denys, well, this is true. They are moving to the 'Barleycorn', at Hedge End. We wish them both the best of luck, expecting to be calling soon to sample a few pints. Marstons will have to be very lucky to find some worthy successors!

WINCHESTER SUPERSTARS

The 'Queen' in Kingsgate Street, Winchester, has a thriving public bar; two dart teams and a shove-halfpenny team flourish and cribbage and dominoes are not far behind in popularity.

Not content with these pastimes, the locals have now organised their own 'Superstar' competition, working on the same system as the TV series.

They've chosen ten games, those already mentioned plus draughts, bar billiards, chess, backgammon, table-tennis and snooker. Ten contestants will each choose eight from the ten games and, whilst it will take them some time to find their 'Superstar', they will certainly have some fun in doing so.

It is good to see a small pub with such a thriving 'public', when so many pubs these days are changing into one-bar lounges, often without even a dartboard.

If your local has a public bar, use it, or you may lose it. Organise your own 'Superstar' competition, it doesn't matter who wins, it is the fun of playing and the friendliness of the other locals that count.

If your local doesn't sell real ale, get together with the other regulars and ask for it. Landlords can be persuaded, then, when you've all got back the taste for real ale and his sales increase, he'll wonder why he ever spent his time and money on CO2 bottles!

A . N. Imbiber .

HANTS REAL ALE GUIDE

THERE ARE STILL SOME COPIES OF:

REAL ALE IN HAMPSHIRE

AVAILABLE BY POST FROM:

P. J, O'NEILL
1 WESTLEY CLOSE,
WINCHESTER,

45P PLUS 9X6 S.A.E.

NEW BREWERY FOR HAMPSHIRE! Hop Press index

Hampshire is to have its second independent brewery, brewing only real ale, in operation this Spring.

Called the 'Ringwood Brewery', it revives an old brewing tradition in the New Forest town which, at the turn of the century, could boast of six breweries.

This new venture is the brainchild of Mr. Peter Austen, formerly head brewer at the Hull Brewery. After leaving Hull, he was instrumental last year in setting-up a new real ale brewery at Penrhos Court in Herefordshire. 'Penrhos Court' was financed entirely out of the profits from the film 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and it has 'Python' star Terry Jones as Director.

Encouraged by the success of the Penrhos Brewery, Mr. Austen, who now lives in Poole, decided to set up in his own right.

When producing at full capacity, Ringwood's new brewery will turn out 50 barrels per week. They will brew two bitters; 'Ringwood Bitter' will have a gravity of 1040 and there is to be a strong bitter, gravity 1049, called 'Forty-Niner'.

The brewery will operate with a staff of only three or four and will have a unique feature – it will be Britain's (The World's?) first 'Cash and Carry' only brewery.

Our next edition should see this brewery in production and we hope to report more fully then.

DARTS Hop Press index

Once a month CAMRA's dart team play a friendly game against one of the pubs in our area. Although it is always a good night out, we rarely win! However this month is a little different and we feel much more confident of our chances - for in place of a pub team, our opponents will be the South-East Dorset CAMRA branch,

So if you are not doing anything on Tuesday, February 28th., come out to the 'Morant Arms' at Brockenhurst and see us in action! This pub sells handpumped IPA and Dorchester Bitter from Eldridge Pope. It is easy to get to, as it is next to the railway station and the late train back to Southampton is very beneficial to a drinker who doesn't want to drive.

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE VISIT - HAMPSHIRE Hop Press index

The National Executive members of CAMRA, from all over the country, descended on Winchester on Saturday, January 21st. Executive members and other guests - about twenty in all - attended a weekend conference, which was held at the 'King Alfred' pub in Saxon Road.

The Southern Hampshire branch of CAMRA hosted the weekend - on Friday evening at Southampton's 'Mason's Arms' and on the Saturday evening we took our guests on a 'walk-about' of the real ale pubs of Winchester.

For the weekend, the Landlord of the 'King Alfred', 'Jock' Christie, put on a cask of the unusual, strong mild, Merrie Monk. This beer,, new to our area, proved so popular with the locals and the CAMRA members alike, that the whole 144 pints disappeared within a day. 'Jock' is now putting on Merrie Monk on a regular basis.

Join CAMRA Hop Press index

J O I N  C A M R A  N O W !  H E L P  S A V E  Y O U R  P I N T !

For information on membership, branch activities or any aspects of Real Ale in Hampshire, contact any of:

Ian Drinkwater(!), 1 Sawyers Close, Winchester (Secretary)
Southampton 34433 (W) Winchester 2910 (H)

Bob Dummons, 55 Burlington Rd., Southampton. (Area Organiser)

Brian Dummons, 55 Burlington Rd., Southampton. (Membership Sec.) Southampton 34576 (H)

Pat O'Neill, 1 Westley Close, Weeke, Winchester. (Chairman) Winchester 4433 X6227 (W) Winchester 65705 (H)

PUB CRAWL NO. 1 Hop Press index

It has been suggested by several members of the branch, that we run a regular 'pub-crawl' article in this newsletter.

It's all very well, for some, to fall out of one pub into the next ail night long but in many areas all that would result would be a belly-full of Whitbread Trophy.

The essence of a good 'crawl' is variety, both of ales and pubs. With this in mind, here we go, 'pub crawl' number 1 - East-Central Southampton.

Starting, from the Southern end of Saint Mary Street, the first stop is Gale's recent acquisition the 'Mason's Arms'. This is a small and tastefully re-furbished pub, where a good pint and a friendly welcome are assured. Here you can sample Light Mild, Bitter, the formidable H.S.B. or, at this time of the year, the 5X winter brew.

Within yards of the 'Mason's' we have the recently enlarged Courage watering-hole, the 'Oddfellows'. The 'Oddfellows' can provide Directors Bitter an handpumps.

About fifty yards north, on the opposite side of Saint Mary Street, is the 'Joiners Arms' The fairly basic public bar is backed by a room where live music is presented most nights. Eldridge Pope's Dorchester Bitter, IPA and Royal Oak are to be had in both bars.

Out of the 'Joiners', turn right and a little way up the road we come to the 'Plume of Feathers' and the 'Kingsland Tavern' - both selling a pint that thinks it's a quart! They also have the Romsey Mild. Moreover the 'Plume' now has Pompey Royal to complete their range of beers.

Go now to the top of Saint Mary Street and turn left - it is a five minute walk to the 'Bay Tree', second Gale's pub of this ramble. Fred, the landlord, has H.S.B., Bitter and 5X on offer here.

Since you've left your car at home, you had better start making tracks for the bus station, where lo and behold, you 1ind the 'Windsor'.

The 'Windsor' is an excellent Marston's house and sells Pedigree, Burton Bitter, Mild and the deadly Owd Rodger. Merrie Monk may also be on sale there soon.

This crawl has taken in fifteen beers from six different breweries - and it's crawled a bit further than originally intended. If you have an idea for a future crawl, please let us know.

HAPPY CRAWLING!

This newsletter is published by the Southern Hampshire Branch of The Campaign for Real Ale.

All contributions should be sent to Colin Daysh, 598 Portswood Rd., Southampton.

join the Battle for better beer

Hop Press issue number 0 – February 1978

© CAMRA Ltd. 1978