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Full Pints Summer 2012 Edition. The quarterly newsletter produced by Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA - the Campaign for Real Ale
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InsideNews P3
Branch Diary P8Ray’s Round Up P11Rural Pubs by Bus
P16 and P24Prestwick PioneerPhoto Special P18
CAMRA Raffle - win£3000 P26
Great BritishBeerFestival P27
Quiz and PuzzlesP29
Membership P32Ken More P34
AYRSHIRE AND WIGTOWNSHIRECAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE
FullInside
PintsVolume 13 Issue 3 Winter 2011 FREEVolume 14 Issue 2 Summer 2012 FREE
KAREN IT’S TRUE LOVE!
LINDSAY WHOSE ROUNDIS IT?
CAMRA Ayrshire and Wigtownshire’s A-listcouples tie the knot.
CLARE MY DREAMMAN!
TONY MY BEAUTIFULBRIDE!
The IssueWedding
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TRADING STANDARDSOFFICES
Ayr - 01292 616060Irvine - 01294 324900Kilmarnock - 01563 521502Stranraer - 01776 703260
Contact
Editorial: Graeme [email protected] 990531Advertising: Bob [email protected] 990972
DISCLAIMERThe views expressed in thispublication are those of theindividual contributors and donot necessarily reflect the viewand policies of the editor or ofthe Campaign for Real Ale Ltd.© Campaign for Real Ale Ltd2012
MINUTES OF MEETINGSare available from the branchsecretary Ray Turpie:[email protected](members only)
ARRAN Brewery has announced a£10million expansion programme thatwill increase production capacitytenfold.
The cash, to be raised from shares soldto the public, will also fund a new bottlingplant and a chain of Arran pubs. Talks areunderway with three councils: EastAyrshire, North Ayrshire andRenfrwewshire over the location of thebottling plant.
In an exclusive interview with theHerald, brewery owner Gerald Michaluksaid: “It is something we have beenplanning for a while.
“We are looking at a investmentsstarting at around £200 and there will bedifferent classes of shares..”
The Arran pubs will open first in thecentral belt but there is a possibility ofexpansion - even abroad.
Gerald said: “Our pubs would mainlysell Arran products but also have guest
Major expansion for Arran Brewery
ales and beers from across Scotland.“We would also look to open pubs
overseas as many Irish-themed bars havebeen successful doing that.
Moreover, Gerald’s company,Marketing Management ServicesInternational, has bought Beers of theWorld magazine from a Norwich-basedpublisher.
Gerald added: “The editorial processwill be independent but the brewery willhave the opportunity to purchaseadvertising at a cheaper rate. It is a costeffective way of promoting ourselves.”
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KELBURN and Ayr Brewing companyhave launched new beers in recentweeks.
Kelburn has released Jaguar, a 4.5%ABV golden, full-bodied ale withundertones of grapefruit and a long-lasting citrus, hoppy aftertatse.
Ayr Brewing Company meanwhile haslaunched Dr Hornbrook, white stout. It isnamed after the Burns poem Death and DrHornbrook.
HOUSTON Brewery has relaunchedits seasonal ales and all are named afterspacecraft.
After the success of Challenger in May,June’s seasonal offering was Discovery, a5% ABV strong golden ale.
This will be followed in July withAtlantis 135, a 3.6% ABV amber brew, inAugust with Endeavour, a 3.9% ABVgolden ale and in September with MarsOdyssey, a 4.2% ABV ruby red bitter.
New beers on theblock
Houston, we have noproblem
The Fox and Hounds, home of theHouston Brewery will hold its summerbeer festival on Sunday, August 19from 12.30pm until 10pm
The Glen Park Hotel, home ofthe Ayr Brewing Companyholds its first beer festival onFriday July 20 and Saturday,July 21
The KirkmichaelArms
Under new ownership & following a 12 month refurbishment programme theKirkmichael Arms & restaurant reopened on 22nd March 2012. Real Ales,
food served from 12.00 till 9.00pm.
3-5 Straiton Rd,Kirkmichael,
South Ayrshire,KA19 7PH
Contact 01655 750200 for enquires & bookings.
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CAMRA’s Dumfries and Stewartrybranch will hold its annual Folk n AleFestival on the weekend of July 13 to 15.
This is a ‘walking festival’ held aroundDumfries
All real ale pubs in the town will betaking part by putting on extra and unusualbeers and local musicians will be playingin many of them.
The best way to get there from Ayrshireis to take the 10.51, 12.48 or 13.50 trainsfrom Kilmarnock. The journey takes justover an hour.
Return trains leave Dumfries at 18.31,19.55 and 21.50.
Dumfries Folk n AleFestival
Outlets newsGains:Kenmuir Arms Hotel, New Luce -reopened under new management.Prestwick Pioneer, Prestwick- nowopen.Loss:Souter Johnnie’s, Kirkoswald - closeddue to fire.Name change:Peebie Broon’s in Beith is now theCaledonian Inn.
FRASERS BAR - MILLPORTQUALITY CASK ALES SERVED ALL YEAR
MEALS SERVED12-2.30 & 5.30 - 7.30 EVERY DAY
7 CARDIFF STREET - ISLE OF CUMBRAE - KA28 0DS
Any changes to real aleoutlets and be notified directto the editor. Contact detailson page 3.
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On the A736 Irvine to Barrhead Road, at Lugton
Manager, Frazer Dunn,invites you to visit forgreat food and local realales from Arran,Houston and Kelburnbreweries
Tel:01505 850510www.thecannyman.co.uk
Congratulations to branch committee members Clare Orange and TonyScott who tied the knot in Darvel in May
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Monday, July 9 Beer festival planning meeting.Waterside, Largs 8pm
Thursday, July 12 to Saturday, July14 Dumfries Folk n Ale Festival
Saturday, July 14 Fyne Ales brewery visit
Monday, August 13 Branch committee meeting. GlenPark Hotel, Ayr - 8pm
Tuesday, August 21 Branch meeting. Harbour Bar, Troon- 8pm
Monday, August 27 Beer festival planning meeting.Geordie's Byre, Ayr - 8pm
Saturday, September 1 Branch social. Stranraer - details tobe confirmed
Tuesday, October 9 to Thursday,October 11
Beer festival set up. Troon ConcertHall
Thursday, October 11 to Saturday,October 13
Ayrshire Real Ale Festival. Troonconcert Hall
Sunday, October 14 Beer festival take down. TroonConcert Hall
Saturday, October 20 Beer festival staff day out. StrathavenAles brewery. (provisional)
Any member wishing more information about social events orto book a place on trips is encouraged to contact the branchsocial secretary Donald Clark at [email protected]
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Congratulations to Lindsay and Karen. Branch chairman andScotland and Northern Ireland director Lindsay Grant marriedKaren Barr in April. Ayrshire Real Ale Festival organiserDouglas Graham was best man
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At the end of the lastissue, I promised togive you an update
on the National AGM andMembers’ Weekend inTorquay. The main eventfor our branch memberswas the announcement ofmost improved newsletterwinner Full Pints. It took a fewseconds to sink in that this was ournewsletter. I was delighted to godown to the podium to collect the
certificate from Jackie Parker onbehalf of our editor Graeme Watt .Congratulations to all concerned in
putting the newslettertogether.
The rest of the conferencewas pretty mundane afterthat announcement but you
will be pleased to know thatour campaigning finances are
in good shape. It was also decidedto concentrate on three or four maincampaigning issues over the nexttwelve to eighteen months one ofwhich is the beer tax escalator. Ifyou have not yet signed the e-petition for this, I would urge youto visit the website and encourageyour friends to do so also, whethermembers or not. To force aparliamentary debate, signatureshave to reach 100,000 before nextyear and at the moment we areonly half way there.
We were over half way toTorquay when we stopped in Bath.This is a place I never tire ofvisiting. With its Roman baths andRoyal Terrace architecture there isplenty attractions for visitors. Theriver Avon meanders through thetown centre and offers a lovelywalk along its banks. The onlybrewery in Bath is Abbey Ales(Bath Ales is from Bristol) and wesampled some Bellringer in the
By Ray Turpie
The Hole in the Wall, Torquay
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evening at thebrewery tap calledthe Star, a GoodBeer Guide pubwhich dates fromaround 1760.
The next daysaw us windingour way down tothe south coast toWeymouth wherewe visitedPortland, famousfor its stone, and walked alongChesil Beach. On the way toTorquay we stopped off at LymeRegis, a quaint fishing village andholiday resort. Of course, Torquayis a famous holiday resort and youcan see why it is called the EnglishRivera. The conference was in theRivera Centre and the members barhad around seventy local beers tochoose from.
On the eve of the conference wedid a mini-crawl of the local GBGhostelries and enjoyed many beersfrom Devon and Cornwall. Iparticularly liked the Hole in theWall where Sharp’s Doom Bar wason good form. Retiring to themembers bar I enjoyed Skinner’sBetty Stogs of Truro, the mainsponsors, and Branscombe ValeMild from along the coast. Myfavourite beer of the weekend
though was Bays Gold from nearbyPaignton.
After the business side wasfinished we had a run down thecoast to Paignton and Dartmouthand took the train up the coast toExeter the next day stopping off atDawlish. While we were down thatfar, we also took the opportunity totake a day return down to Penzanceon the train. Getting off at Truro onthe way back, we visited thecathedral and had our first creamtea. On our final day of the holidaywe had a run up through Dartmoorand arrived in Spreyton in time forlunch at the Tom Cobley Tavern.This was National Pub of the Year2006 and it certainly did notdisappoint. I managed a pint ofexcellent Cotleigh Tawny Owl towash down the home madeCornish pasty.
The Tom Cobley Tavern, Torquay
For the last nine months we have been serving real ale in our hotel bar. Twodifferent ales are available daily with 5 or 6 different ales appearing weekly.Please pop in the next time you find yourselves in Portpatrick.The Crown offers bar meals all day from 12-9 and our restaurant menu is availa-ble from 6pm daily.Seafood is our speciality (AA awarded seafood pub of Scotland past winner).We also offer daily specials alongside our extensive menus.We offer bed and breakfast and dinner packages with 5 of our 12 en-suite roomsoffering sea views. Bed and breakfast is available from £40 per person.
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CROWN HOTEL9 NORTH CRESCENTPORTPATRICKWIGTOWNSHIREDG9 8SXTEL 01776 [email protected]
For the last nine months we have been serving real ale in our hotel bar. Twodifferent ales are available daily with 5 or 6 different ales appearing weekly.Please pop in the next time you find yourselves in Portpatrick.The Crown offers bar meals all day from 12-9 and our restaurant menu is availa-ble from 6pm daily.Seafood is our speciality (AA awarded seafood pub of Scotland past winner).We also offer daily specials alongside our extensive menus.We offer bed and breakfast and dinner packages with 5 of our 12 en-suite roomsoffering sea views. Bed and breakfast is available from £40 per person.
The CAMRANationalConferencemight not beeveryone’scup of tea butif you ever getthe chance, Iwouldcertainly giveit a try. It isinteresting toseedemocracy at work withinCAMRA, put faces to names andmeet people. If you fancy a trip toNorwich next year the Members’
Weekend and AGM is from April19-21. And of course, East Angliahas many excellent beers. Need Isay more?
Ray Turpiereceives the FullPints award fromJackie Parker
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By Mick Lee
Now that the summer is here,maybe your thoughts turn tovisiting a country pub?
But unless you have a willing it’s softdrinks only.
However, many of our more out of theway hostelries can be visited by bus, evenif such visits take a bit more planning, andthis article is intended to give you theinformation needed to do that planning,area by area.
Most of North Ayrshire's mainland realale pubs are on the coast betweenSaltcoats and Largs, with the onlyexceptions being at Beith, Gateside andLugton.
Beith has two pubs: the Masonic Armsand the Caledonian Inn, which recentlychanged back to its original name fromPeebie Broon's. Both sell Houston beersand are really town rather than countrypubs, but is reasonably easy to get tousing the X34 and X36 buses which toGlasgow. Gateside isa separate village butcan be reached onfoot from Beith on agood day. It’s abouta mile walk but it’salso served by theinfrequent 337 busfrom Beith whichcontinues viaLugton, Dunlop,Stewarton andKilmaurs toKilmarnock.
The Gateside Innserves food and has agarden, so it is idealto visit on a goodday.
Lugton is just a hamlet at a junction ofmain roads, but the Canny Man,formerly the Paraffin Lamp, serves threereal ales from Houston, Kelburn and otherlocal breweries as well as good value,high quality food, and has outdoor seatingand play area.
As well as the aforementioned 337 thesimilarly infrequent X44 Irvine-Glasgowbus also passes the door.
The part of East Ayrshire north ofKilmarnock has pubs in Dunlop: theVillage Inn and the Auld Hoose andKilmaurs: the Weston Tavern selling onereal ale each, while the Millhouse Hotelin Stewarton, has three ever changing realales.
All are within walking distance of therespective stations, as well as beingserved by the 337 bus while Stewartonand Kilmaurs are also connected toKilmarnock and the Irvine Valley by thenumber 1 bus, and to Irvine by theShuttlebus 13.
However, south of Kilmarnock things
The Gatesdie Inn
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get a bit more complicated, with a numberof pubs being so close to the borderbetween East and South Ayrshire that itoften surprises which area they are actuallyin.
Most are served by public transport tosome extent. Mauchline and Sorn are bothserved by the X76 and X50 buses fromKilmarnock, while Mauchline can also bereached by the 43 bus from Ayr that alsopasses through Failford. Poosie Nansies inMauchline is a recent convert to real ale,usually having a Houston beer, as does theSorn Inn. The latter is renowned for itsfood, but does have a small bar for thosewishing to only have a drink. An attractivepart of the River Ayr Way connects Sorn toCatrine (about 2 miles) where the 43 buscan be an alternative to the X76 and X50.The Failford Inn, under recent newownership, has an attractive beer garden onthe banks of the river Ayr and a couple ofever-changing real ales.
Those more difficult to get to, as they arenot served by buses, are the Craigie Innand the Stair Inn. The former is more of arestaurant these days so is less likely toattract the casual drinker. Although theStair Inn has no bus service it can bereached on foot from the Ayr-Mauchlineroad It’s about one and a half miles, wherethe 43 bus is available or via a veryattractive section of the river Ayr Waythrough Failford Gorge from Failford(about three miles). Keen walkers couldeven use this part of the long distance pathto visit Sorn, Mauchline (with a diversionoff the path), Failford and Stair.
The rural area south of Ayr is restrictedto two real ale pubs at present, since therecent closure of Souter Johnnie's inKirkoswald due to fire damage.
The Hollybush Inn at Hollybush is
actually in East Ayrshire, although itsconnections are all with Ayr, and can bereached from the latter by the 52Dalmellington bus. It has a conservatoryrestaurant with fine views, plus a bar, andone real ale.
The Kirkmichael Arms in Kirkmichaelhas recently reopened after a period ofclosure and is gaining a reputation for itsfood and its two real ales. It can bereached by the 361 and 358 buses fromAyr, which also connect to Maybole. Theremaining pubs south of Ayr are both inGirvan, which has train services toStranraer, Ayr, Kilmarnock and Glasgowas well as various bus connections.
The Royal Hotel in Girvan has aHouston beer while the Roxy Cafe Barhas two bars, a restaurant and a beergarden overlooking the harbour.
Getting AroundBuses:Stagecoach West ScotlandCustomer Services01292 613500Disability Helpdesk07736 892253Trains:Scotrail Customer Services0845 601 5929Ferries:Caledonian MacBrayneEnquiries0800 066 5000All:Traveline Scotlandwww.travelinescotland.com0871 200 22 33
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Prestwick Pioneerphoto specialpublished in lieu of anadvertisement thatwas purchased butnot included in thelast issue of FullPints.
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PEOPLE power caused the government to u-turn on the damaging, unpopular pasty tax - wecan do the same for beer.Every year the price of your pint increases by 5 to10 pence down your local because beer tax rises anadditional 2% per cent above inflation annually -this is called the Beer Duty Escalator.Around £1 of your pint now goes to the taxman.This high rate of tax means pub going is becomingunaffordable and contributing to a closure rate of12 pubs a week.
PLEASE SIGN THEE-PETITION CALLINGFOR THE BEER DUTYESCALATOR TO BESCRAPPED.
www.saveyourpint.co.uk
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Catacol Bay Hotel, Catacol, Isle of Arran
Owned and run by the same family forover 30 years, the Catacol Bay Hotelis a small, friendly, licensed hotelnestling in the Arran hills 1.5 milesfrom the Lochranza ferry terminal andapproximately 16 miles from BrodickThe hotel boasts stunning viewsacross the Kibrannan Sound.We serve an extensive range of realales, draught beers, wines, meals andsnacks in the bar daily from 12 noon to10pm, or enjoy our famous Sundaybuffet served 12 noon to 4pmthroughout the year.Outside there is a large beer gardenwith children's play area, the perfectplace to watch the sun go down.
01770 830231www.catacol.co.uk
The WatersideBath Street, Largs Tel: 01475 672224
Two ever-changing REAL ALES nowavailable
Live Music Saturdays Karaoke Fridays
Poker Wednesdays Open Mike night Sundays
Food available every day, except Monday
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By Mick Lee
Wigtownshire is a lessstraightforward area to getaround without a car, but most
pubs can be reached by bus with planning,although in many cases only daytime visitsare possible and Sunday services arereduced.
Stranraer has train services to Ayr,Kilmarnock and Glasgow, but otherwise it'sdown to the bus. Most services run fromStranraer, although there are exceptions inthe east part of the area.
In the Rhinns of Galloway, there are pubsin Portpatrick, Kirkcolm and Sandheadserving real ale, and all can be reached bybus from Stranraer.
Portpatrick is served by bus 367 every twoor three hours throughout the day, althoughthere is a reduced Sunday service Sundays.Both the Harbour House and the CrownHotel are on the harbour front and have aselection of ales, good food and outsideseating areas. Nearly all the buses are run byStagecoach, but some others inWigtownshire are run by local concerns,with King of Kircowan being prominent.
Most of the 408 buses to Kirkcolm are runby that company and run throughout the dayup to about 8pm. The multi-award winningBlue Peter Hotel has an ever-changingselection of real ale, good food and a beergarden with an amazing selection ofwildlife including red squirrels. However,daytime opening is only at weekends.
King of Kircowan also runs the the 407 toDrummore calling at Sandhead six or seventimes a day, Monday to Saturday. TheTigh-na-Mara Hotel is right behind thebeach and has one real ale. It may be worthcontinuing to Drummore this summer as theClashwannon Inn is said to be trying outreal ale.
Stranraer is also the starting point for theStagecoach 430 to Newton Stewart andthe 500 and X75 services to Dumfrieswhich call at Glenluce and NewtonStewart and can also be used to visit pubsin Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas andDumfries.
Glenluce is a village bypassed by themain A75 road and the Kelvin HouseHotel is the place to find real ale. North ofhere is the village of New Luce where theKenmuir Arms has just re-opened.However this village is served by one busonly in each direction on Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Fridays so visits bypublic transport are not practical
Newton Stewart has buses north toGirvan and south into the Machars inaddition to those on the east-west mainroad. The town itself has the CreebridgeHouse Hotel sitting in its own lovelygrounds and serving a selection of real alesand good food. A more recent addition isthe Galloway Arms Hotel in the towncentre.
Real ale in the Machars is available atWigtown and Isle of Whithorn, bothserved by Stagecoach 415 which runsregularly throughout the day from NewtonStewart.
The Wigtown Ploughman in the formeris handily placed for visiting the manybookshops in Scotland's Book Town, andhas an attractive garden. The SteamPacket Inn at Isle of Whithorn is aharbour-side gem which has won manyawards and serves five real ales and goodfood. There is also a twice a day busservice 416 from here to Stranraer but it isnot very practical for pub visits. North ofNewton Stewart is the House o' Hill Hotelat Bargrennan, close to Glen Trool inGalloway Forest Park. It is a short walkfrom the King's bus route
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CAMRA is donating the proceeds of this year’s raffle directly to Pub is the Hub.CAMRA’s figures suggest that 12 pubs are closing per week, four of which are ruralpubs. In total, 4,500 pubs have closed since 2008 with the loss of around 78,000 jobs.In addition, almost 70 per cent of villages no longer have a pub or a shop, Post Officeor other services. These worrying figures have contributed to the launch of Pub is theHub.
What is Pub is the Hub? Pub is the Hub (PITH) is a not-for-profit advisory group that encourages localcommunities and pub owners to work together to support, retain andlocate local services within the pub. They encourage pub diversification to supportlocal services that are either under threat or may have ceased trading.They also advise on scheme funding and the best way to progress projects.
Benefits of Pub is the Hub� By diversifying a pub to support local services, the pub is able to share
overheads.� Additional staff can be recruited helping to support local people� Raises awareness of pubs and services which increases footfall in pubs and
enhances pub sustainability� Encourages communities to use local services which in turn supports local
businesses
As a not-for-profit oranisation funds are not easily available which limits the amountof free support that PITH can provide. PITH needs to ensure that they have thefunding available to continue supporting local services, pubs and communities.By purchasing raffle tickets you are helping us to rise to the challenges that rural pubsare facing. We need your support to secure a future for Britain’s pubs..The raffle will close on Friday, October 19, 2012.For more information, see: www.camra.org.uk/raffle
Ticketswill beavailablefrom allCAMRAmembersfrom Julyat £2each.
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Britain's biggest pub opensits doors for a five day festival onTuesday, August 7.
There will be over 800different real ales, ciders andforeign beers for the expected50,000 crowd to try.
This fun event is not all about thebeer though. There are a variety ofdifferent foods from around theworld and music to enjoy.
This event really is a beer drinker'sparadise.
This year the GBBF returns to Olympiaand Earls Court is beingused for theOlympic games.
Opened in 1886, Olympia is anexhibition centre and conference centre inWest Kensington, on the boundarybetween The Royal Borough ofKensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith& Fulham. It features threeexhibition halls - Olympia GrandHall, OlympiaNational Hall andOlympia 2.
LondonOverground andSouthern Trains rundirect services toKensington(Olympia). Directservices run fromClapham Junction,Balham, EastCroydon,Shepherd's Bush,WatfordJunction, MiltonKeynes Central,Willesden Junction,West Hampsteadand Stratford.
local services that are either under threat or may have ceased trading.
� By diversifying a pub to support local services, the pub is able to share
� Encourages communities to use local services which in turn supports local
of free support that PITH can provide. PITH needs to ensure that they have the
http://gbbf.org.uk
Opening times:Tuesday5pm - 10.30pm(last admission 10pmWednesday to Friday12pm - 10.30pm(last admission 10pm)Saturday11am - 7pm(last admission 6.30pm)Trade session Tuesday,August 7, 12pm - 5pm. Ticketonly.
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The View to HeadlineLive@Troon 2012
August 31st, 1st to 2nd September 2012http://liveattroon.com
Year Three here wecome!
With two of Ayrshire's mosthappening music events underour belt, we're heading into ourthird weekend music fest with ablistering line-up of headlineacts, fantastic musicians andbreakthrough bands.Some of Scotland's hottestproperty will be gracing the stageat Troon this year when TheView, Carly Connor and TheImagineers come to town.But as usual, Live@Troon is notonly about music. We'll beoffering masterclasses a filmnight and for the first time, acomedy fringe.
Tickets:Tickets Scotlandwww.tickets-scotland.com08444 155 221orFullartons10 Portland StreetTroon
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1 7 6 2
4 6 9 3
7 5
2 1 5 8
6 9
5 4 3 6
8 3
9 6 2 3
3 1 5 7
1 Which company is the world’sbiggest tyre maker?2 What is the most watched drama onUS TV?3 What is the world’s fastestproduction car?4 What are David Cameron’s middlenames?5 John Edwards replaced AlanLancaster in which band?6 Laertes and Polonius appear inwhich Shakespeare play?7 Name Shane Ritchie’s character inEastenders8 In what year were did Acts of Uniontake effect?9 Taraxacum Officinale is the Latinname for which flower?10 James Harding edits whichnational newspaper?
Sudoku
Pub Quiz
WhatLinks…A beer, an
old Scottishword for
gossip andHughLaurie
s
BeeragramsRearrange to following into thenames of real ales including thebrewery and the beer.1 Pervert hates tantrum
2 Vandalises inn room
3 Fine droll splendour
4 Well-suited topnotch gem
5 Thrusting blow degrades
6 Loony anorak’s Halo
7 Sloppy feelings dear
8 Rub dinky meddlers
9 Alexander’s romp
10 A cast-iron pedantry
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Pub Quiz1 Lego 2 NCIS 3 Bugatti Veyron 4 William Donald 5 Status Quo6 Hamlet 7 Alfie Moon 8 1707 9 Dandelion 10 The Times
1 9 8 5 4 3 7 6 25 4 7 1 2 6 8 9 36 2 3 8 9 7 4 5 12 3 6 7 1 5 9 8 44 7 1 6 8 9 3 2 58 5 9 4 3 2 1 7 67 8 2 3 5 4 6 1 99 6 4 2 7 1 5 3 83 1 5 9 6 8 2 4 7
What Links?Claverhouse: brewed by Strathaven,clishmaclaver and plays Dr GregoryHouse.
SudokuBeeragrams1 Strathaven Trumpeter2 Inveralmond Ossian3 Fuller’s London Pride4 Tempest Long White Cloud5 Stewart’s Edinburgh Gold6 O’Hanlon’s Royal Oak7 Fyne Ales Piper’s Gold8 Kelburn Red Smiddy9 Adnams Explorer10 Tryst Carronade IPA
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01292 540117
NOW UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF NICK and LINDA BROOMHEAD
The Failford Inn is a rural pub on the B743 between Ayr and Mauchline from theWhitletts roundabout. Failford is home to the Ayr Gorge section of the River Ayr Walk
and the Failford Inn makes a great place to relax. We offer the choice of a real fire in thebar or our picturesque beer garden which slopes down to the river.
We offer a full restaurant and bar meal service with a choice of real ales.
Allan, Kerry and Sarah aredelighted to welcome real aledrinkers to Killie’s famousHunting Lodge at GlencairnSquare, Kilmarnock.
Karaoke on Fri. and Sat.
Food all day Thurs. – Sun.
Two function rooms for up to300 people.
Tel:01563 522920
REAL ALE IS BACKat
The Hunting Lodge
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By Bob Wallace
Ayrshire andWigtownshire
CAMRA
Findus on
Membership of the Ayrshire &Wigtownshire has now reached400 with roughly the same
number of new members joining sinceChristmas, to replace the dozen or so whochose not to renew.
I thank you for your support if you areone of the latter but encourage you to keepdrinking real ale and to consider re-joining at some point in the future.
If you are reading this article and are nota CAMRA member then you can use theform opposite or visit the ‘Join us’ pageon the CAMRA websitewww.camra.org.uk.
As a member you will receive thefollowing benefits:1. What's Brewing, a monthly colour
newspaper, delivered direct to yourletterbox.
2.Beer, a quarterly magazine, alsodelivered direct to you.
3. Reduced admission to over 150CAMRA beer festivals
4. Discounts on CAMRA books,including the Good BeerGuide.Discounts from a number ofpartners, such as. Cottages4you andHire a Canalboat.Remember also that every new, and
renewing, member will also receive £20of real ale vouchers from JDWetherspoon, which equates to the cost ofa single, full, direct debit subscription,and you are effectively getting a year'sfree membership.
Regrettably the only two of their 700+outlets which still do not accept thesevouchers are the West Kirk in Ayr andthe Prestwick Pioneer. Come on SouthAyrshire Council, surely a 50p discount
on one pint is not going to encouragebinge drinking.
Indeed, should you not be encouragingdrinkers, especially the younger agegroup, to drink alcohol in the controlledenvironment that is the pub rather thanconsume without such controlselsewhere?
Vouchers can of course be used at theSalt Cot in Saltcoats and the Wheatsheafin Kilmarnock as well as all other JDWoutlets in Scotland and beyond.
If you have any questions please contactme, Bob Wallace, branch membershipsecretary. My email address [email protected] and mymobile number 07929 990972.
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He’s the
man inthe know!
What constitutes good servicewhen it comes to real ale? It’s aquestion I‘ve been pondering
over the last few weeks after being serveda couple of dodgy pints.
Now I do not have problems with beeroften. After all, I choose my pubs carefullyand I only go to good ones.
The first problem was in a popular andwell-known real ale bar in Glasgow. I hada pint of beer that should have been hoppybut tasted yeasty. I asked for it to bechanged. And although the bar staffinsisted the beer was of fine they didexchange it for another. The beer was kepton sale but that is probably OK becauseone person’s opinion is just that - oneperson’s opinion. If a couple of morecustomers complained about the beer thenI am sure it would have been removedfrom sale. Nobody else ordered it while Iwas there so I’ll never know.
This was an acceptable level of servicefrom knowledgeable bar staff in a pubwith a reputation to maintain and isexactly what the discerning beer drinkerhas come to expect.
Compare that experience to one I had inAyrshire shortly afterwards in a pub towhich I rarely go.
It was a busy Saturday night. I ordered apint of the one real ale on offer.
The same problem - it was yeasty and as
it was a beer I have had many times I knewit should be hoppy. The smell aloneshould have warned me. But I was incompany and didn’t want to delay ourevening so I tried to drink it. It wasimpossible.
So I took my beer back to the bar,explained the problem and was told thatthere was no way there could be anythingwrong with the beer as it had only been infor two days.
I tried to explain that even though it waswithin its shelf life it still was far fromanything I would want to drink.
After much tutting and moaning fromthe staff I was offered a replacement pintbut there was only one beer on sale. Howcould another one from the same cask andsame line be any better? Of course it wasnot.
I then asked if I could change it forsomething else. I was told that I could notbecause it would ‘upset the stock take’.Nonsense of the highest order.
So I demanded a refund and was givenit.
The simple fact is that real ale is easy tolook after but it does have to be lookedafter.
If something goes wrong, as sometimesthings will, the publican should accept itwith good grace and do his or her best tokeep the customer wanting to some backto the pub.
Most people are reasonable andunderstand that a single beer that isslightly off does not a bad pub make.
Having to debate with the bar staff whena beer is undrinkable however has put meoff going back.
Oh one more thing publicans. When thebeer runs out, have another one ready togo on.
36
FULL PINTSAt Sulwath Brewers,
we give you thechance to see the craft
of brewing in action,and to taste our
speciality ales, at ourfully-licensed brewery
tap visitor centre.
Open Mon-Sat 10am until 5pmOff-sales also available
The Brewery, King StreetCastle Douglas DG7 1DT
www.sulwathbrewers.co.uk
Telephone: 01556 504525
