Hop Press

Issue 5 – February 1982

A rough scan & OCR of the original leaving out adverts & some sections such as the Crossword
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Contents

• WHITBREAD - Bad News Again
• PUB NEWS
• BRANCH ACTIVITIES 1981 (A Brief Resume)
• THE LARDICAKE!
• RECIPE - Cider and Turkey Soup [See pdf copy]
• GARDENING NOTES
• COMPETITION PAGE
• SMALL BREWERIES REPORT
• GOOD BEER GUIDE 1982
• BRANCH DIARY

WHITBREAD (bad news again) Hop Press index

Following November's announcement that Whitbread's cask Wessex Mild was to be discontinued by the end of 1981, it may seem that their assurances (see Hop Press Issue 3) about the future of this beer, given even while their sales force was actively discouraging New Forest landlords from stocking it, were nothing but a tissue of deception.

To say "We shall continue to produce this beer while them is a demand for it" while simultaneously discouraging sales of that particular product by exerting persuasion on its retailers to substitute an alternative, may stop short of open lying; however, the evidence of the Bournemouth Landlord who was told in 1980 that cask mild was no longer being produced, and the licensee who was advised to take 'this new mild' (Keg Best Mild) because "it's better", suggests that lies were being told in order to kill off the product. So does the experience of the Whitbread tenant who was told he could not order Wessex Mild, because it was no longer available, and who was surprised to see, while visiting the Brewery, a neighbour collecting his supplies of that beer.

All in all, CAMRA seems to have come off badly in recent dealings with Whitbread; in two and a bit years, Whitbread Wessex has reduced the number of cask beers it produces from five to two, and the number of active breweries from two to one. Meanwhile, all the evidence suggests that their cask beer is the dearest widely available in the South Hants area.

One is led inexorably to the conclusion that this state of affairs would not have arisen, had it not been for the strong influence in Hampshire of what is generally called the 'tied house system'. This is the arrangement which allows brewers to have effective control over what products are sold in a substantial proportion of the retail outlets for their products, and to exclude competitors from selling to those outlets. The origins and operation of this system are described in a new series starting in a future edition of Hop Press. Its effects are plain for all to see in the majority of pubs in South Hampshire - more limited choice and higher prices than would otherwise be the case.

PUB NEWS Hop Press index

Author

PUB NEWS

MORANT ARMS, BROCKENHURST - Change of landlord.

DOLPHIN, TWYFORD - Landlord died recently - new landlord.

BARLEYCORN, HEDGE END - Change of landlord.

CROWN, HIGHFIELD - Changing to Steak House shortly.

FROG & FRIGATE, SOUTHAMPTON - Two bars now open.

BLACK BOY, WINCHESTER - Live entertainment every Monday.

FULFLOOD, WINCHESTER - Now has Marston's Mercian Mild.

PHOENIX, ROMSEY – Now Flames Wine Bar, no Real Ale.

LARDICAKE, ANDOVER - New Bourne Valley Pub, See Pages 6 & 7.

GREENMAN, WINCHESTER - Reports excellent sales of Marston's Mercian Mild.

SLIPWAY, LYMINGTON - Has no Real Ale.

WESTCLIFFE HOTEL, HYTHE - Has Wadworth Old Timer and 6X, although it is not in the Hampshire Real Ale Guide.

SHEARERS, OWSLEBURY - Still has Wadworth Old Timer on draught.

BRANCH ACTIVITIES 1981 (A BRIEF RESUME) Hop Press index

BRANCH ACTIVITIES 1981 (A BRIEF RESUME)

Two recent walk-abouts have token us to Lymington and Winchester, the first loosely connected with Southampton University Students Union, and the second with the Middlesex Branch.

As the Lymington crawl largely followed the course suggested in Hop Press (March Issue 81) further details of the pubs would be superfluous apart from mention of the fact that the Slipway no longer has Ringwood Bitter and that apparently, only 'keg' was available in the back bar at the Red Lion, due to the recent visit of a thirsty busload! It is probably also worth commenting that the landlords of the Eldridge Pope houses visited, seem to know their job better (thankfully) than the brewery 'experts'.

The Winchester visit covered less ground, our Middlesex brethren having had a fairly exhausting day carrying out routine inspections of the Ringwood Brewery and the Frog & Frigate etc. The shortened trip took us to the Green Man and the King Alfred and ended at the Fulflood where the comparatively low prices were greeted with some disbelief and much appreciation.

The Mike King Darts Trophy changed hands in November, Ray Lasseter (Branch Treasurer) beating Jon Tugwell (last year's winner) in the final held at the Fountain, Hedge End.

However, as a branch our 'arrow' expertise falls a long way short of striking fear into potential opponents, despite managing to beat the Salisbury Arms in the May 'friendly' - our first win yet, so I'm told.

Dare I suggest more 'friendlies' and more practice?

The Branch has also enjoyed two interesting and informative Brewery Trips recently. The first to Marston's enabled us to see the only 'union' fermenting system still in operation, whilst the evening trip to Wadworth's showed us a brewery which in contrast to most of the 'big boys' is apparently actually increasing its sales.

THE LARDICAKE Hop Press index

RAB NOOLAS

On Monday 7 December 1981, a pub opened in Andover, and though not in our Branch Area, it was a rather special event as our sauntering 'sipper', Rab Noolas reports:

At 12 noon on a chilly December morning, Mr Bert Earney - author of a book on the Inns of Andover - unveiled the sign of the Lardicake and opened a new chapter in Hampshire Pub History.

Situated in Adelaide Road just out of the town centre, the Lardicake is notable because the owners - Andover Alehouses (who are also the owners of Bourne Valley Brewery) - have taken the brave step of making the pub a No-Smoking pub (smokers don't despair - it is only non-smoking during the weekday lunchtime sessions, and in the small back bar in the evenings and at weekends) thus making it unique in Hampshire.

The pub, in the Hampshire Real Ale Guide under its previous name of the Adelaide Tavern, sells four Bourne Valley Beers:

Also on sale is Bulmers Medium Cider on handpump, and the bottled lagers and beers are supplied by Whitbread - the previous owners - and the story goes that the seven-year tie was bought on because the manageress smashed a mirror when they moved in.

The Manager - Dave Rayner and his wife Jan - have moved from the Maidstone Area where Dave was Chairman of the local CAMRA branch. They, along with Andover Alehouses/Bourne Valley Brewery founders James Lynch and John Featherby, were quick to paint out that the non-smoking aspect, was not all the pub had to offer.

Traditional pub games are an important feature in the pub, with probably the only bar skittles table for miles. There are also a Shove Ha'penny slate, nine-mans-morris, dominoes, cribbage, as well as darts - and there are no fruit machines or space invaders. In the summer Aunt Sally and Bat & Trap will be introduced in the courtyard.

As James Lynch said "We wanted to create a pub with a traditional atmosphere, everything has been planned to be as traditional as possible". This thinking also carries to the kitchen where Jan Rayner serves up excellent freshly-made food at very reasonable prices.

In case anyone has thought that I had had too much to drink and spelt Lardicake wrong, I had better point out that the pub was named after the path which runs down the back of the pub called Lardicake Lane (now Rack Close - as in woollen industry). The only drawback with the pub at present is that is has no car park, and the road has double-yellow lines, although there are several car parks in easy walking distance and the train station is only a mere 15 minute walk away.

GARDENING NOTES Hop Press index

It has recently been discovered that the garden slug is partial to Ringwood Fortyniner. This fact came to light when a barrel of the brew was left tapped and spiled in the garden. Drops of beer which escaped onto the path were soon discovered by several slugs and snails, which, on last observation were unable to stand upright and were furthermore attempting to climb on top of each other. (This appears to be a pattern of behaviour not unique to the slug).

It is recommended that a saucerful of Fortyniner be put at a little distance from the Runner Bean patch. This will not only allure the creatures away from your vegetables, but will also render them intoxicated and easier to catch. What's more you can catch them two at a time!

Footnote: A liberal sprinkling of beer over the lawn will save time with the mower, as the grass will come up half cut. See you there.

COMPETITION PAGE Hop Press index

This competition was very kindly sent to us by the landlord of the Mailmans Arms at Lyndhurst, Mr Larry Walder.

He is offering £5 to the sender of the first all correct answer, or to the person with the most correct one month after publication.

Answers should be sent to Mr Larry Walder, Mailmans Arms, Lyndhurst, Hants and not to the Editor.

THE FOLLOWING PHRASES ARE ALL PUNCH LINES TO JOKES HEARD IN THE BAR RECENTLY, HOW MANY DO YOU KNOW?

* Not suitable for ladies.

CHARITY FUNCTION: For local Handicapped Riding School

"Revolting Banquet"

Mr Ernie Sheppard (a member of the SSA - Swill Swillers Association) will be dining at the Mailmans Arms, Lyndhurst on a three-course meal with a selection of dishes submitted by customers.

All proceeds from the silver collection will go to the School for Disabled Riders in Lyndhurst.

See you there.

Small Breweries Hop Press index

IAN DRINKWATER
Small Breweries Liaison Officer CAMRA

In the Autumn of 1977 a former experienced commercial brewer, addressed a CAMRA Branch Meeting in a dimly-lit Southampton pub. The brewer, formerly with a big brewery in the North of England, had just retired to the South, but was already getting itchy feet having been design consultant for the new Penrhos Brewery in Herefordshire.

The retired brewer was Peter Austin, now respected as the country's leading brewery consultant. At the meeting Mr Austin predicted that history was about to be repeated, "there will be a return to local small scale brewing". Indeed he was right, and today he can be looked on as a pioneer within the revival of small breweries.

In 1880 there were over 12,000 small or home breweries in this country, but by the beginning of the seventies only 5 were left. Then CAMRA's success opened the door for a consumer demand for increased availability of traditional draught beers. A number of former commercial brewers made their pipe-dreams into reality and set up on their own.

Then started the small brewery revival which was called "the most surprising revolt of the decade". The revival began in the mid-1970s with 13 new breweries operating by the end of 1977, and 37 by the close of 1979, which included the first for Scotland (an area in which Real Ale is particularly thin on the ground.)

The pendulum swing gained momentum in 1980, the year which saw the birth of many new home-brew pubs, with breweries established adjacent, or within existing licenced premises. These concerns have been particularly successful: as although the economies of scale are not in their favour, lower operating costs can be achieved with no real transport overheads involved.

One of the first of the new home-brew pubs was Hardington Brewery started by Landlord Gerry Tompkins at the Mandeville Arms at Hardington Mandeville, Somerset in November 1979. This was also the first Somerset brewery for many years, in a county which had suffered dramatically from brewery take-overs.

Although both Hardington beers have been produced using malt extract, new equipment has recently been installed which will enable full mash brews to be produced.

Many of the new breweries have been started by CAMRA members with home brewing experience, engineering backgrounds and knowledge of the licence trade. They have succeeded because of dedication to their case, which means long hours of work in often cramped, old-fashioned, unheated premises.

Unlike a conventional brewery, the directors of small breweries are also required to be jack-of-all-trades - brewers, draymen, clerks, pump fitters, cellarmen, salesmen and labourers. Normally constituting a three-man operation with a 6-day/60 hour week.

It's a challenge and it can be a tough life at times, but the end product brings its rewards in terms of job satisfaction.

The biggest stumbling block faced by the small boys is the tied house system, which denies entry into around two-thirds of Britain's pubs which are either brewery-owned, or tied so-called Free Houses. They rely on selling through the genuine Free-trade - clubs, pubs, off-licences and usually by direct sales ex-brewery to the public.

As transportation is a major cost, trading is normally confined to an area of about a 30 mile radius of each brewery. However, some of the larger small breweries have in the past had to look further afield for outlets, but as local trade improves they are then able to contract to serve their immediate area.

The fact that these mini-brewers are no amateurs is demonstrated by the results of the Beer of the Year Awards made at the 1980 and 1981 Great British Beer Festivals. The top bitter awards were made respectively to Golden Hill Brewery, Somerset and West Riding Brewery, Huddersfield.

Let us not forget that the giants were tiddlers once ......

G.B.G. 1982 Hop Press index

This month sees the launch of the 1982 GOOD BEER GUIDE. As always it lists the pubs throughout the British Isles which in the opinion of the local CAMRA branches, sell among the best draught beers to be found. This year there are over 6,000 entries.

As well as the pubs (which includes Northern Ireland for the first time) the guide includes a history of Inn signs, the threats to the modern pub, and Bass closures of the Union Rooms.

The price is £3.95 in the shops, though CAMRA members can purchase theirs at a discount at Branch Meetings or from CAMRA Headquarters at St Albans.

BRANCH DIARY Hop Press index

For further details of the above events, and for details of other forthcoming events, Contact the Branch Secretary: Nick Martin on Milton-on-Sea [??] or in What's Brewing (if you are a member - if not see below).

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

I wish to become:

* A full member of CAMRA Ltd (£7.00 per year)
* A joint member with my wife/husband (£7.00 per year)

Please make cheques payable to "Campaign for Real Ale Ltd", and send completed applications to: CAMRA Membership, 34 Alma Road, St. Albans, Herts, All 3BW

Name .......................................................

Address .......................................................

After joining you will receive your members monthly magazine 'What's Brewing' but more importantly you will find out about local CAMRA branch activities they will be delighted to welcome you at any time - find out more.

Hop Press issue number 5 – February 1982

Editor: Jon Tugwell
15 Belleview Road
Eastleigh
Tel: Eastleigh 615209
hop-press@shantscamra.org.uk

©CAMRA Ltd. 1982