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Cover picture: The Old Moseley Arms, branch Pub of the Year (© Simon
Richards)
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in “Barrel of Brum” are not necessarily those
of the editor or the Campaign for Real Ale.
Birmingham Trading Standards: 0121 233 9600
3. Sally talks Bull….
4. News Page
7. CAMRA News
11. The Inn Cider debate
13. Young Members
16. What is real ale?
18. CAMRA campaigning
21. Mild in May
23. Bully says “Let’s See What You Could Have Done”
29. Bostin’ Beer Tours
34. Under the “Micro” scope
36. Obituary— Amanda Jane Butler
40. Pure Bar and Kitchen
42. Branch Diary
43. Branch Contacts
Contents
3
Welcome to your new Birmingham
CAMRA Magazine.
As many of you know, Dave
Moorhouse and Noige Barker stepped
down from producing Out Inn Brum
after the Autumn Edition 2013,
leaving a set of very large boots to fill
for the branch. The Branch are very
grateful to Dave and Noige for all their
work on the magazine, taking it from
a small branch newsletter to a
Regional Magazine of the Year winner.
We apologise for the lack of a Winter
issue, there simply wasn’t time to set
up a new team to produce that
edition.
However, we are delighted to
provide you with a Spring 2014
magazine, produced by our new
editorial team of Sally Lavender
(plenty of writing, and absolutely NO
technical stuff), Alex Lee and Darren
Campbell (advertising and finance),
Simon Richards (desktop publishing)
and Martin Collinge (proofreading).
We have taken the brave step of
recreating the magazine with a
different name and format. Please
bear with us as we learn our craft, and
endeavour to bring you the best
magazine we can.
We would love you to get involved
with this publication in any way. We
are always looking for articles from
members to publish, and would love
to know how you are campaigning for
CAMRA, where you have been and
what you have been drinking. There
are requests within the magazine for
you to submit photos of your CAMRA,
ale, cider and perry related activities
too. Please send us what you can;
photogenic though your editorial
team are, readers don’t always want
to see the same faces.
Also, please contact us at
to tell us your news. We try our best
to keep our fingers on the pulse but
none of us are omniscient. Therefore
any pub news (newly opened, newly
closed, recently introduced ale/cider/
perry or under threat), brewery news
(newly opened, closed or new beer)
or cider news would be greatly
appreciated. If we are aware of such
things we can not only publicise them,
but also offer help where appropriate.
Thank you for your patience, and
happy reading.
Sally Lavender
Sally Talks Bull….
4
Pub and Club News
The new Purity Bar (Pure Bar
and Kitchen) opened on March
17th, please see our interview
with gaffer James Williams.
The Inn on the Green in Acocks
Green B27 7UH will be holding
another one of their excellent
Festivals from 8th-11th May. Beers
from London will be featured, and
there will also be cider. We can’t
wait!
The Woodman on New Canal
Street are introducing a new
Summer menu, in the hope that
we may have some warmer
weather. In fact this pub is so
optimistic about the forthcoming
months, that they are also having
work done on an outside seating
area. We really hope that they
are right….
The Bristol Pear in Selly Oak is
due for a refurbishment this
Summer, and the intention is to
stock a real ale afterwards.
The Clumsy Swan opened
recently on the site of the Yew
Tree Pub. Reports are that they
are selling 3 national ales.
There will be a Charity Beer (&
Heritage) Festival on 9th-11th
May (Fri & Sat Midday-10.30pm,
Sun Midday-5pm) at the Castle
Bromwich Hall Hotel (B36 9DE)
with 30+ Real Ales, Ciders and
Perries. The event is hosted by
Castle Bromwich Lions Club.
he Old Moseley Arms will be
holding a Beer Festival from 15th-
18th May. This is always a superb
event.
Brewery News
Frothblowers’ Brewery in
Erdington has had a very
successful few months, and has
now produced five different
beers. First there was Piffle
Snonker, a light blonde
deservedly popular beer at 3.8%,
next Gollop with Zest, which is
pale and citrusy at 4.5%. In
February they brewed their first
special Feb Brew Harry 4.7%.
More recently their March Special
Blastercast 3.8% was spotted and
enjoyed at the Wellington and
News Page
5
Anchor among others. Their April
Special is to be called Toby-more-
ish 3.9%.
Rock and Roll Brewery at the
Lamp Tavern Highgate have
recently increased their capacity
to brew special beers, and
‘celebrated’ by brewing a strong
Scottish Ale, Capercaillie for our
Burns Night Social in January.
Misty Mountain Hops has also
been spotted at the Lamp,
although sadly not tasted by this
editor! Mark Shepherd the
brewer has also set up a separate
brewery at the Blue Bell Cider
House in Earlswood. And he
makes fabulous haggis
sandwiches….
Congratulations to Two
Towers Brewery in Hockley for
gaining a first place ranking for
‘Best City Activity’ on Trip Advisor
for their brewery trips. They have
decided to build on the popularity
of their Stout Bhacker Ackhams
which recently became a regular
beer, by following with a new
mild Far Tottering 4%, scheduled
to coincide with a Roland Emmett
Exhibition at the Gas Hall. The
brewery has recently launched a
"Two Towers Club" which offers
discounts on ales and bottles with
free delivery in the Birmingham
area. They are currently talking to
the city council with a view to
expanding the brewery site.
Cider News
We have our first producer in
the Birmingham Area (FANFARE
PLEASE!).
Andy Newman produces cider
in Moseley under the name of
Moseley Cider Circle. He is a lone
producer working with a mixture
of bittersweet and sharp apples,
some local and some from our
Herefordshire cousins. He will be
making dry and sweet cider, and
hopes to provide a sparkling cider
eventually. The offering last year
was excellent, so I asked him how
to find this year’s crop. Andy’s
advice is to check out the cider
board at the Post Office Vaults
regularly to catch his cider. He
also intends to supply local
festivals.
The very best of luck to Andy.
We hope to taste it soon.
6
Beer Brewed in Birmingham Visit our website for details of how you can purchase our products or visit the brewery.
www.twotowersbrewery.co.uk
email: [email protected]
“An Orchard In Your Glass” Wrenbury Ciders
Bottle conditioned award winning ciders
Order now for April delivery
www.finediningwithcider.co.uk
01270 781212
7
Assets of Community Value
In February 2014, CAMRA
announced that 300 pubs have now
been listed as an Asset of
Community Value, and that they
are hoping to reach 400 soon.
The purpose of listing a pub in
this way is to give it extra
protection from redevelopment. In
one case, this has already been
used to lead to a community
buyout.
In order to list your local you will
need 21 local people who are on
the electoral role. Details can be
found on the CAMRA website of a
step-by-step action plan. Select
‘Campaigns’, then ‘List Your Local’.
Please let us know if you are
listing a local in the Birmingham
area. Although CAMRA cannot be
involved with the application as an
incorporated body, our individual
members can if they are local. We
will also be able to help publicise
the campaign, and offer advice
where needed.
Drink an Extra Pint a
Month For the UK Brewing
Industry
Our favourite sort of campaign!
Drink extra beer for a really
important reason. Don’t only drink
that extra pint, please take a photo.
We would love to see, and publish
what you had to drink and where.
Vicki drank a pint of Oracle with
hors d’oeuvres in the Post Office
Vaults
CAMRA News
8
It will surprise no-one to learn that
Martin drank his extra pint at
Yardley Beer Festival!
Andy went to a Beer Festival at the
Sheldon Marlborough Club.
Aaron visited the Sun at the Station
in Kings’ Heath.
Chris went to the White Horse in
Harborne
9
Darren and his friends stayed at our very own Birmingham Beer and
Cider Festival
Alex decided to drink his extra pint in Helsinki, until we told him it was
to support the UK Brewing Industry………….
..so he went to Wales. Best place for him!
10
11
A lot of people have their own
personal views on cider and perry,
and I thoroughly enjoy listening to
the ‘man in the pub’ on the issue.
Either CAMRA should, or shouldn’t
support it. It is either a great drink
but rarely dry/sweet enough or
available enough, or it is utterly
disgusting. It either shouldn’t be at
beer festivals, or it’s lovely to finish
the night with a little tot. Many
people find that it doesn’t agree
with them taken in quantity (what
7% drink does?). And the general
conception is that it is drunk by
mad people (I guess the jury’s still
out on that one!).
To my mind cider and perry
should be close to CAMRA’s heart
as, like real ale, they are heritage
drinks. Cider making is an old
English craft, and without CAMRA’s
campaigning assistance there is a
very real chance that perry would
have ceased to exist some time
ago. I don’t expect that every
CAMRA member should drink cider,
but simply that they should
recognise the history and skill
behind each pint, and the wealth of
flavours available with the different
varieties of English cider apples and
perry pears.
Sadly, very few of us are aware
of exactly what CAMRA/Apple
define real cider to be. I have been
asked over the years to explain
how to identify real cider so many
times that it is a wonder I have any
hair left! Real cider and perry
should contain fruit juice (apple,
pear or a mixture), and the other
permitted ingredients are water
(but not much) and sugar or
sweetener (but bizarrely not
honey!). All flavourings or other
juices, natural or not are banned
from the final result under Apple
guidelines.
Then there are the rules about
the production process. There
should be no filtration, no
pasteurisation and no carbonation.
Unfortunately many producers find
The Inn Cider Debate
12
that they need to filter or
pasteurise in order to offer their
cider in bag in boxes as a tertiary
fermentation often leads to split
bags and loss of product in storage
areas or pub cellars. If it is still
fermenting, it grows, and whereas
problems can be spotted fairly
easily by a festival which is only
open for four days, it could lead to
the producer losing a great deal of
money by having to replace the
contents to pubs or wholesalers.
Another way to counteract that is
to add artificial sweetener, but I
know which taste I prefer!
I don’t deny that this attention
to purity of product is very
admirable, but there are other
factors that make it unrealistic.
How is it possible to police every
cider producer in the country to
ensure that they abide by these
rules? It seems an impossible task,
given the sheer volume of
products.
Why can we not apply a simple
percentage rule to cider producers?
Apple support ‘100% juice ciders’ in
that the original cider should start
with 100% juice content. I would
love to see a juice content rule for
real cider in the same way that
there is for mass-produced ciders
(worryingly, to call itself cider a
product only needs to contain 35%
apple juice). For real cider and
perry, I would suggest that the
proportion be somewhere around
90%. So long as a cider contained
at least 90% juice it could be
considered real. That gives very
limited scope for adding other
substances, and we simply need to
ensure that cider makers list their
ingredients. I don’t think that a
producer who has spent much
money, and many months
developing a high quality cider
would then choose to make
modifications that were
detrimental to the product. Surely
we should trust these artisans to do
what is best for their cider, using
their extensive knowledge?
If the rules on “What makes
Cider Real” are simplified, the
producers will still be able to run
their business in a sensible manner
and make money, and we all get to
enjoy real cider and perry, and
order for festivals without
continually wondering if we will fit
in with CAMRA guidelines.
13
Hello there!
We're Vicki and Dave,
Birmingham CAMRA's brand new
young members’ reps
We both love real ale and cider
for its rich and vibrant diversity.
From the sweetest perry to the
richest stout- there's something for
everybody.
That's exactly what we are all
about! We want to dispel the myth
that ale isn't for young people.
We're not just beer bellies and
beards here at CAMRA.
We're really excited to be taking
on this role together, and have lots
of fantastic ideas to encourage ale
(and cider) drinkers of all ages that
we can't wait to share with you in
the upcoming months!
In the meantime please don't
hesitate to get in touch with us to
find out more information :)
Vicki and Dave
Email-
youngmembers@birminghamcamr
a.org.uk
Twitter- @BrumCamraYM
Facebook - Birmingham Camra
Young Members
“The senior members of the
committee would like to
wholeheartedly refute the
assertion by these
whippersnappers that we have
beer bellies. We are actually
pleasantly rounded and
cuddly. Cheeky kids! – Ed”
Young Members
14
15
16
What is Real Ale?
In the early 1970s CAMRA coined
the term 'real ale' to make it easy
for people to differentiate between
the bland processed beers being
pushed by the big brewers and the
traditional beers whose very
existence was under threat.
Many pubs and brewers use the
term to describe their beers, but,
just to keep you confused, they are
also called cask beers, cask-
conditioned ales or even real beer!
In the pub the huge majority of real
ales are served using traditional
hand-pulls, rather than through
modern fonts, but there are some
exceptions to this, so if in any
doubt, just ask. Real ales may also
be served direct from the cask,
often called gravity dispense.
What makes Real Ale 'Real'?
Real ale is a natural product
brewed using traditional
ingredients and left to mature in
the cask (container) from which it is
served in the pub through a
process called secondary
fermentation. It is this process
which makes real ale unique
amongst beers and develops the
wonderful tastes and aromas which
processed beers can never provide.
What's the difference between
'Ale' and other Beers?
There are a huge range of different
beer styles, each with different
qualities, tastes and strengths, but
each falls into one of two main
categories; ale or lager. The key
difference between ales and lagers
is the type of fermentation.
Fermentation is the process which
turns the fermentable sugars in the
malt into alcohol and carbon
dioxide. Lagers are made using
bottom-fermenting yeast which
sinks to the bottom of the
fermenting vessel and
fermentation takes place at a
relatively low temperature.
Authentic lagers then undergo a
long period of cooled conditioning
in special tanks.
Ales, which includes bitters, milds,
stouts, porters, barley wines,
17
golden ales and old ales, use top-
fermenting yeast. The yeast forms a
thick head on the top of the
fermenting vessel and the process
is shorter, more vigorous and
carried out at higher temperatures
than lager. This is the traditional
method of brewing British beer.
Why isn't all Beer Real?
Real ale is a natural, living product.
By its nature this means it has a
limited shelf life and needs to be
looked after with care in the pub
cellar and kept at a certain
temperature to enable it to mature
and bring out its full flavours for
the drinker to enjoy.
Brewery-conditioned, or keg, beer
has a longer shelf life as it is not a
living product. Basically, after the
beer has finished fermentation in
the brewery and has been
conditioned, it is chilled and
filtered to remove all the yeast and
then it is pasteurised to make it
sterile. This is then put in a sealed
container, called a keg, ready to be
sent to the pub.
The problem is that removing the
yeast and 'killing off' the product
through pasteurisation also
removes a great deal of the taste
and aroma associated with real ale.
Because there is no secondary
fermentation occurring in the
container (i.e. keg) in which is held,
there is no natural carbonation of
the beer so gas (either carbon
dioxide or a mixture of carbon
dioxide and nitrogen) has to be
added to "fizz up" the beer. This
creates an unnaturally fizzy beer
rather than the gentle carbonation
produced by the slow secondary
fermentation in a cask of real ale.
What is Beer?
All beer is brewed from malted
barley, hops, yeast and water,
although other ingredients such as
fruit, wheat and spices are
sometimes used. The yeast turns
sugars in the malt into alcohol and
the hops provide the bitter flavours
in beer and the flowery aroma.
The flavour of the beer depends on
many things, including the types of
malt and hops used, other
ingredients and the yeast variety.
Getting the yeast right is essential
as each variety has its own
distinctive effect on the beer.
www.birminghamcamra.org.uk/
rale/
18
Imagine if you will, that an
organisation persuades you to
‘invest’ a great deal of your money
into a scheme that sounds very
attractive to you at the time. You
invest happily, but then it all seems
to go wrong. The helpful and
almost paternal attitude of the
organisation seems to change.
Certain material details of the
arrangements may be changed, or
‘re-explained’. You may feel that
you were not told the whole truth
at the beginning. Costs increase,
and incomes never quite live up to
expectations. Eventually you are
left in financial difficulties which
the organisation seems to
exacerbate, potentially terminating
in poverty, possibly even
bankruptcy. In most situations as
the investor you might consider
that you have been conned, and
have been a victim of some sort of
scam. Yet this is frequently the
way that tenants describe their
dealings with pub companies.
The Fair Deal for your Local
Campaign is very central to the
ethos of CAMRA, an organisation
that believes that we should all
have access to beautiful cask beer,
and plenty of pubs to drink it in!
These unfair practices make it far
more difficult for individuals to
operate successful businesses, and
therefore serve to reduce the
number of pubs available to our
members. Also the consistency
that used to exist in the pub
industry is threatened. Instead of
the same tenant landlord operating
in the same pub for years, even
decades, suddenly many major pub
company pubs are seeing several
managers each year with long
periods of closure in between. This
cannot be good news for real ale or
pubs.
Of all the CAMRA campaigns I
have read and supported in recent
years, this is certainly the closest to
my heart, as my partner and myself
are both vintage (i.e. very old!)
large pub company tenants. In our
experience, every opportunity to
grow the business or make a little
extra profit was immediately
scuppered by a greedy pub
company protecting their bottom
line. In my pub, I was told that the
real ‘cash cow’ would be the
CAMRA Campaigning – Fair Deal for your Local
19
Function Room with an
Entertainment Licence for 150
people. However whilst sifting
through the paperwork a couple of
days after moving in I found a letter
from the local authority refusing to
grant an Entertainment Licence as
structural work was required which
I could not afford. The Pub
Company explained that the work
would now be my responsibility as I
was the tenant, and denied having
told me that the licence was in
place. It was only a verbal
assurance, but one I never thought
to question. Such stories are in no
way unusual.
According to a 2013 survey, the
majority of large pub company
tenants (57%) survive on less than
£10,000 a year. They pay a
premium price for their beer
(Typically anything from 25% - 60%
more than a comparable Free
House) and cannot inflate their
prices to their customers to reflect
this for fear of losing them to said
Free House. This means that
making money is very difficult, and
more pubs than ever rely entirely
on income from their food
operation. Whilst this can work for
certain pubs, wet sales are the
major part of most pub turnovers,
and these are controlled so that a
very major proportion of the profits
go directly to the Pub Company.
Case Study
The Pattenmaker’s Arms in
Duffield Derbyshire occupies an
idyllic location in a small village.
The landlady Claire Muldoon took
out a tenancy with a major pub
company group three years ago
which is due to expire in April.
Since taking out her tenancy,
Claire has invested in, and grown
her business. She has started to
make a very small wage, but is
certainly not making her millions.
However she runs a lovely
community pub with an excellent
selection of ale, an asset to any
community.
Amongst the many community
focused activities taking place at
the Pattenmaker’s is a lunch club
for the blind and partially sighted.
Many of the attendees are afforded
an all too rare opportunity to leave
the house on these days. One lady
who was instrumental in setting up
these lunches commented that the
“heart of the village would be
broken” without the
20
Pattenmaker’s. The pub is also the
current Derby CAMRA Country Pub
of the Year.
When Claire received her notice
of her right to renew her tenancy
from this April, she was given the
option with a rent increase of 42%!
She simply cannot afford to pay this
amount of rent, as this will lead to
the pub losing money. However
her local community, and CAMRA
are trying to come to her rescue!
A recent public meeting in
Duffield about the future of the
Pattenmaker’s was attended by
around 100 local people, and a
couple of well-meaning interlopers
from Birmingham! The way that
the community pulled together was
inspirational, but there is a long
fight ahead. The locals intend to
register the pub as an asset of
community value as recommended
by CAMRA, but whereas this may
lead to a more certain future for
the pub, it may very well be too
late for Claire. We can only hope
that a solution is found.
If you would like to show
support to Claire and the
Pattenmaker’s, you can sign the
petition at
http://www.petitions24.com/
pattenmakers or why not pop in for
a pint? Their annual beer festival
will be held from April 17th to April
20th, and it is only a short train ride
from Derby. Let’s hope it is not the
last!
Pub companies must somehow
get the message that this kind of
behaviour is unacceptable. Many
people wishing to run pubs use
their redundancy money,
retirement money or life savings.
They should not be encouraged to
invest in businesses that are
continually made unviable by their
parent company. In any other
industry this would lead to
widespread outrage, and the
potential of court cases or
imprisonment.
See CAMRA’s thoughts at http://
www.fairdealforyourlocal.com/ and
visit http://
www.pubscandal.org.uk/ to sign
the petition.
21
'May' The Mild Be With You!
May is CAMRA's national 'Mild
Month', when this style of beer is
celebrated.
Mild was once one of
the most popular beer
styles in the country, and
indeed during the time
of the First World War
it was particularly
prevalent, given its
tendency to be lower
gravity (and thus less
potent) than bitter, an
important factor when
you wanted workers to
be sober enough to
produce armaments for
the war effort! Indeed the
lower ABV (alcohol by
volume) meant it was
often the preferred
beverage of those working
in heavy industries such as coal and
steel, allowing the worker not only
to slake his thirst but also to
replace the lost water sweated out
in the dirt or heat.
Once bitter and then (sadly!)
lager started to dominate mild
became an endangered species of
the beer world, but with CAMRA's
support this wonderful beer style
has seen a renaissance
in recent years, with
many breweries
returning to brew a
mild.
Of course in the
Midlands local mild
favourites such as
Ansell's, M&B,
Banks's and
Holden's were the
chosen tipple of
many, and
although the
former two are now
harder to find there is still
a strong following for mild,
as there also is in the North
West, where I was brought
up.
Mild has also had its share of
the limelight with milds from
Hobson's and Rudgate receiving the
prized garland of The Champion
Beer of Britain award in recent
years. Plus let us not forget that
not too far away in Sedgeley the
Mild Month
22
'not so mild mild' Sarah Hughes’
Dark Ruby Mild is produced, so at
6% it shows that although milds
tend to be of a lower gravity this is
not always so, and indeed a few
breweries do produce a stronger
version of the style.
Here in Brum we are organising
another 'mild crawl' on May 17th
(meet 12pm at the Spotted Dog,
Digbeth), so 'watch that space' on
our branch website
birminghamcamra.org.uk for
details of that event, and we hope
to see you during the day enjoying
this great drink in some great pubs!
Martin Collinge
Mild Officer
Go mild Go mild Go mild in (not the Black) Country....
Mild Crawl
Saturday 17th May
12.00 Spotted Dog 12.45 White Swan 1.15 Anchor 1.45 Lamp 2.30 Craven Arms 3.15 Shakespeare, Summer Row* Thereafter probably: Bull (if cask mild available) Woodman Bacchus* Shakespeare, Lower Temple Street* Post Office Vaults Wellington *Nicholson's pubs - if each one has a different mild on I suggest going to those that do. These latter pubs will depend on how the crawl unfolds, hence no exact times, but the plan is to give 45 minutes between each hostelry. Any latecomers/stragglers can contact me on the day on 07941 607076
23
Bully says “Let’s See What You Could Have Done”
Cider and Chocolate – a ‘Super’ combination
Would you buy a CAMRA membership from these people?
Perry Bates-son
Sparkly Parkes The gang at Yardley
24
Event of the year—Birmingham Beer and Cider Festival
Come inside—we’re waiting for you
Trade night—What is that unfamiliar object
around Phil’s neck?
25
Some glamour on the cider bar with Aaron and Sarah
Are you sure you need that microphone Joe?
Dennis at Dunkerton’s
All-time campaigner awards for Ivor and Susie Clive’s Fruit Farm – ‘Smashing’ Pumpkins
Bully says “Let’s See What You could Have Done”
26
Sparklers after the Toffee Apple Crawl – ‘Great’ Saluting ‘Over the Edge’ at the Regional Awards
Bully enjoying a Capercaille on Burns’ Night
Black Country Taps – Fownes Brewery
Black Country Taps – the Beacon Beer of the Festival
27
Gary looking forward to four
more ‘Super ‘ years
Mark realised Bully was
thirsty
After a glorious gold win, Dave
mistakes Bully for a parrot!
Bully endorses the Winter
Champion
Jake the ‘Smashing’ Salopian
Bully says “Let’s See What You could Have Done”
Taking the Thank you trip rather literally
Did someone mention a Beer Festival?
28
Bronze Presentation to Chris at the Craven Arms
Silver Presentation to Eddie at the Lamp
Gold presentation to Sukhi at the
Old Moseley Arms
‘Great’ expressions Phil and Brendon
at the Inn on the Green Finalist Presentation
First Beer Festival at the Sheldon Marlborough Club
29
Sometimes in your life you
realise that you have spent many
wonderful days with a particular
person. Together you have visited
many of the best alehouses and
most wonderful brewers and
producers in the country. Richard
James is one such person.
However his situation is slightly
different, because in making these
trips he remains totally sober
despite the wonderful ale and cider
available. This is because Richard is
our lovely, tolerant, coach driver,
who this year celebrates his 30th
year of running beer tours.
Richard is a very proud Black
Countryman from Halesowen.
Many years ago he kept a
restaurant (Groaty Dick’s – it’s a
Black Country thing…) which was
an outlet for Black Country food,
ale and entertainment. When he
decided that the restaurant trade
was no longer for him, his passion
for the local real ale led to him
offering Black Country bus tours.
Many will remember the success of
these in the eighties and nineties;
The cry of “BUS!” that would lead
to every regular jumping behind
the bar of their local and getting
their nightly 20 minutes of exercise
serving punters before peace
would descend once more!
As Richard’s customers
matured, he settled for more
sedate beer tours. Now he has
coaches available to hire for trips of
his customers’ choosing. His calm
demeanour is perfect for busy
CAMRA trips, and he is always
happy to inject a bit of humour into
the day. Know to Birmingham
Branch as “Captain Dick”, we can’t
imagine a day out without him.
Contact Richard on 0121 550 8016
if you would like to organise a trip,
there are plenty of different sized
vehicles available.
Richard is offering a number of
Beer Festival Trips this year, and
still has some spaces to visit
Gloucestershire Railway Real Ale
weekend on 17th May, Bishops
Castle on July 12th, and the
Cotswold Beer Festival on July 19th.
Contact Richard for further details
on 0121 550 8016, or email
Bostin’ Beer Tours
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and we will pass the details on. And if you participate in Birmingham
Branch’s own trips, it is only a matter of time before you will encounter
our very own Captain Dick.
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Name - Mark Arnott-Job
Brewery - Two Towers Brewery
Position - Head Brewer
What did you do before making
beer? I have always brewed beer.
Even at university I would clear a
corner of my student digs for my
fermenting bin! Professionally, I
was a secondary school teacher.
What inspired you to start
brewing beer at a personal level? I
kept running out of beer!
Why did you decide to start a
brewery? I decided to start the
brewery business because I felt
that in spite of the proliferation of
breweries across the country,
Birmingham had little to show in
this respect. Also significant was
the willingness of a business
partner (Trevor Harris) to provide
support.
When was your brewery
established? We started setting up
the physical aspects of the
brewery, that is refurbishing the
premises, in the spring of 2010. Our
first commercial brew was on 2nd
August of the same year.
Where is your beer produced?
The beer is produced in a light
industrial unit on an industrial
estate in what would be regarded
as the 'inner city' of Birmingham,
but close to the city centre and the
city's Jewellery Quarter.
What beers do you produce?
We produce up to nine different
beers for cask sale and we bottle
them all. So far only one of these is
pasteurised - the Electric Ale.
Under the ‘Micro’ scope Our regular feature on small brewers or cider makers
Mark is also a talented guitarist
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Where can we find your beers?
Our website lists the outlets for our
ales, but generally speaking, our
products are available at all the real
ale off licences in south
Birmingham, and in cask format in
a handful of city pubs. Over and
above this we pop up as guests at
other real ale pubs within
Birmingham and the rural fringe.
Which is your favourite of your
own beers? My favourite beer
changes with my mood and the
season: the lighter ales in the
summer and the dark ales in the
winter. An evergreen is the BSA!
What is your favourite other
beer? I like some of the new
breweries springing up, including
Black Jack of Manchester and one
or two of the more established
such as, locally, Weatheroak
Brewery of Studley.
Does your brewery have a
slogan? Our brewery slogan is
"Beer Brewed in Birmingham". I
think this is a strong statement
given the great manufacturing
heritage of the city and the fact
that not a lot of brewing currently
happens here!
Can our readership visit you?
The readership can visit the
brewery. Might be an idea to give
us a call beforehand to make sure
we are present and not out
delivering. Also, visitors would
need to understand we will
probably be in the middle of
something so they must be
prepared to jump in a vessel! Of
course joining one of our brewery
tours is a great way of finding out
more about the brewery.
Where would you like to see
the brewery in five years time? I'd
like TTB to be a major regional
brewery and a household name
and the product of choice for
Brummies!
Not a man to be messed with!
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Birmingham Branch were very
sorry to hear that Mandy Butler
from Heart of Staffordshire Branch
passed away in March.
A teacher by profession, Mandy
was a stoical volunteer at Birming-
ham Beer Festival for several years,
mostly on the 'dark'/cider side, as
she was the cider officer for her
own branch.
A natural volunteer, readers
may also recognise Mandy from the
Severn Valley Railway where she
was a familiar face for a number of
years. She was also an active mem-
ber of the Womens’ Institute
Those of you who attended the
West Midlands Cider Festival in
September will clearly remember
her as the lady that wouldn't let
anyone else wash glasses! Or as
someone who laminated every-
thing in sight and then took more
home to return it the next day. Or
just as a lovely person who would
turn her hand to anything. Few
people were allowed to know that
her Cancer treatment would start
the next week. Mandy’s amazing
energy made it impossible to be-
lieve that she was seriously ill.
Her dedication to CAMRA lasted
until the end. She took herself to
Liverpool for a pub crawl a month
before she died, and attended the
Regional Meeting at the Lymestone
Brewery on Feb 22nd. Two days
before she died she took home the
pub curtains to hem them! She
was not a lady that liked to slow
down.
It was a great privilege to know
Mandy and to have her as a friend.
The final time I saw her was at the
Regional Meeting. My last words
to her were “You are an amazing
lady”, hers to me “No I’m not, shut
up”. In all the time I knew Mandy I
never once had the last word.
She was one of the best.
Sally Lavender
Amanda Jane Butler 1966-2014
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The long-awaited opening of
Pure Bar and Kitchen on Waterloo
Street finally happened on March
17th at 5pm. For months we have
been peering through the windows,
watching and wondering, so it’s
lovely to finally be able to walk
inside!
This pub came about by way of a
partnership between Purity Brewing
Company’s Paul Halsey, Simpsons
chef-patron Andreas Antona and
former Mitchells and Butlers
director Martin Hilton. The
intention was to sell fabulous beer,
both cask and craft, and offer an
exciting beer themed menu.
The gaffer (or General Manager)
there is a young gentleman by the
name of James Williams.
James hails from Morecambe in
Lancashire and has a degree in
events management. After a stint
working in Sheffield, James moved
to Birmingham and worked at
Edgbaston Cricket Club as the Bar
Manager. James says that he spent
his time there selling everything
from doughnuts to real ale.
Pure Bar and Kitchen
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James loves the Pure Bar ethos
of great beer and amazing food.
He explains that he sees the pub as
a truly democratic environment
where everyone is able to find their
ideal beer, and that staff training
has been designed with that goal in
mind. Thirteen Beers and one cider
are available, with seven cask ales
at the time of our visit. Four ales
are from the Purity stable, and
three rotating guests, at the time
Rooster’s YPA, Tiny Rebel Cwych
and Kirkstall Dissolution IPA.
Regarding the food, James says
that the menu has been designed
to complement the beer. It is early
days for Pure Bar, but apparently
the Scotch Eggs with Beer Ketchup
(UBU, Dunkel and Mad Goose) have
a serious following already! As a
main course, James particularly
recommends the Slow Roast Belly
Pork with Colcannon and Green
Beans, or the Steak Frites with
Longhorn IPA Shallots. Desserts are
beer themed too, including Mad
Goose Waffles and Saddle Black
Chocolate Brownie with Bacchus
Kriek Ice Cream. Bar snacks include
UBU glazed pork pies, chilli sausage
rolls and home-made pork
scratchings.
Pure Bar is open from 10-11
each day (midnight Friday and
Saturday). The Kitchen is open
from 12-2.30pm and 5-10pm (12-5
on Sunday). Why not give it a try?
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Monday May 5th - Beer Festival Planning Meeting - 7.30pm - Craven
Arms, Upper Gough Street, B1 1JG.
Saturday May 10th – Regional Mild in May Social in Coventry. More
details to follow.
Saturday May 17th – Birmingham Mild in May Social. Meet Lamp
Tavern 12.00.
Monday May 19th - Committee Meeting – 7.30pm – Anchor, Bradford
Street, Digbeth, B5 6ET
Thursday May 22nd – Social to Kidderminster Beer festival. Details TBA.
In recognition of a certain birthday, Penguin t-shirts OR Birmingham
green may be worn! Or just come as you are…..
Saturday May 31st Trip to Kinver and Green Duck Breweries along with
some pubs in the area. Pre-Booking required. Contact
[email protected] for details
Thursday June 5th—Branch Meeting 7.30pm Selly Park Tavern B29 7HQ
Monday June 16th - Beer Festival Planning Meeting - 7.30pm - Craven
Arms, Upper Gough Street, B1 1JG.
Thursday June 26th – Social to Bromsgrove Beer and Cider Festival.
Thursday July 3rd - Branch Meeting 7.30pm – Venue TBC
Monday July 9th - Beer Festival Planning Meeting - 7.30pm - Craven
Arms, Upper Gough Street, B1 1JG.
Monday July 21st - Committee Meeting – 7.30pm – Anchor, Bradford
Street, Digbeth, B5 6ET
Saturday July 26th – Regional Social to follow the Shropshire Cider Trail.
Meet New Street Station for the 10.05 train to Shrewsbury.
Branch Diary
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Branch Contacts Chairman Phil Barker [email protected]
Vice Chairman Andrew Bull [email protected]
Secretary Andrea Campbell [email protected]
Treasurer Dennis Guppy [email protected]
Membership Secretary Martin Collinge [email protected]
Social Secretary Sally Lavender [email protected]
Contact Martin Bull [email protected]
Cider Representative Aaron Pell [email protected]
NBSS Co-ordinator Gordon Brignal [email protected]
Pubs Co-ordinator Andy Goundry [email protected]
Clubs Co-ordinator Andy Goundry [email protected]
Magazine Editor Sally Lavender [email protected]
LocALE Co-ordinator Angela Lawton [email protected]
Press and Publicity Officer Martin Collinge [email protected]
Public Affairs Clive Walder [email protected]
Pubs Database Co-ordinator Tom Barker [email protected]
Website Officer Tom Barker [email protected]
Local Guide Publishing Darren Campbell [email protected]
Student Liaison Officer Chris Bates [email protected]
Young Members Contact David Glenwright
Victoria Miles [email protected]
Pub Preservation Officer Andy Maxam [email protected]
Beer Festival Organiser Mark Bates [email protected]
Public Transport Officer Paul Crowley [email protected]
GBG Submissions Co-
ordinator
Simon Richards
Brendon Daly
Health and Safety Officer Paul Taylor
David Page
Tasting Panel Co-ordinator Sally Lavender [email protected]
Campaigns Officer UNFILLED
Products Officer UNFILLED
Mild Officer Martin Collinge [email protected]
Social Media Co-ordinator Darren Campbell [email protected]
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