WhatAles? - zen108646.zen.co.uk

WhatAles?Newsletter of theWest Cumbria branch of CAMRA

Discover CAMRAlocally atwww.westcumbriacamra.org.uk

Winter2009-10issue

Whitehavenbeer festivalreport 8-9

Albert winspub of theseason 16

Cumbriaawardwinners 14

Cocker hoop!

JenningsrolloninWestCumbria

resurgence afterfloods

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WEST CUMBRIA CAMRA PUBOFTHE YEAR2008&2009

LOWESWATER, CUMBRIA CA13 0RU WWW.KIRKSTILE.COM

THE SECOND

LOWESWATER

BEER FESTIVAL

presents:

sponsored by Cumbrian

Legendary Ales

brewers of the famous

Loweswater Gold

Kirkstile Inn

Ticket only £5): available at the bar or telephone 01900 85219Includes entry to marquee for one of the sessions below, souvenir glass and free first half pint

Friday 23rd April 5pm to 11pmSaturday 24th April 12 noon to 5pmSaturday 24th April 6pm to 11pmSunday 25th April 12 noon to 5pm

WINTER 2010 WhatAles? 3

If you watched the news programmeson TV before Christmas you wouldhave believed that turning west off theM6 anywhere north of Lancastermeant you would have been drowned!

Everyone knows how importanttourism is to our area and that’s whylocally CAMRA has been doingeverything it can to encourage visitorsback. This included booking an advertin the national What’s Brewingnewspaper, which goes to all 108,000CAMRA members in the UK,declaring that “Cumbria is open!”

Real ale is a major attraction to ourarea as we boast 26 breweries in thecounty (one of the most prolific in thecountry) with over 150 different stylesand strengths to suit all tastes. InWest Cumbria alone we have over 150pubs serving real ale. We know howgood they are because this is the timeof year when we have to nominate ourallocation for next year’sCAMRA Good Beer Guide– and that’s just 22! It’s anightmare whittling downthe list of originalnominees put forward bybranch members to reachthe final insertions, soapologies to all those pubs

who will be disappointed comeSeptember when the GBG comes out.

But it’s also a sign of success andwe want to support all our pubs andencourage licensees across the area –if they can – to take real ales andspecifically to support locally-brewedales (see LocAle campaign, page 13).

More people are being won over tocraft-brewed cask real ale, made fromwholesome barley malt and wholehops, and rejecting the bland,tasteless offerings made from cheapingredients that passes for keg “beer”and “lager”. It’s bringing people backto pubs. And that’s worth fighting for.� Andy Smith & JimChapple co-editors

Congratulations to The Candlestickat Whitehaven, our branch Pub of theSeason for Winter. Martin Shaw and

Joe Wilde (left) have beenrunning this Robinsonspub for over a year,adopting a successfulpolicy of serving DizzyBlonde with a regularlychanging Robinsonsguest. See next isue for fullfeature.

BranchOfficers� Chair: MaryThompson [email protected]� Vice-chairman: Chris Hale� Treasurer: [email protected]� Secretary: StephenWalker 07747084039; [email protected]� Pubs Officers: Jim Chapple (Data),Andy Roberts(Awards) and AshleyMoore (Events)� Branch Contact:Stephen & HelenWalker [email protected]� Membership Sec: Helen [email protected]� Social Secretary:Steve Hebblethwaite01900 821501;[email protected]� Pubs PreservationOfficer & Press Officer:Ros Berry [email protected]� Webmistress: Chris de [email protected]� What Ales co-editors: Jim [email protected] [email protected]

� Views and opinionsexpressed are notnecessarily those ofthe editor, the WestCumbria branch or ofCAMRA Ltd.� No part of thispublication may bereproduced withoutprior permission.

� Many thanks toall our contributorsand advertisers.

� Design & production: smith+bell01900 821939; [email protected]: www.smithplusbell.com

� Print: Kent ValleyColour Printers, tel: 01539 741344

Fighting back...

Pub of the Season


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Home of thefamousHungariangoulash

Real fire, openbeams, woodenand flagstonefloors

Totally dog-friendly

Open all day, every day, food 12-9pm (no fried food, ie chips)

Various Keswick Brewery real ales plus Coniston Bluebird,Theakston’s Old Peculier and guests

West Cumbria CAMRA Pub of the Year 2007

2 Lake Road, Keswick017687 73463

WEST CUMBRIA CAMRA PUB OF THE SEASON SUMMER 2007

WEST CUMBRIA CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR 2008: RUNNER-UP

Open seven days a week: Sun: 2pm-11pm

Mon & Tues: 4pm-11pmWed to Fri: 4pm-11.30pm

Sat: 2pm-11.30pmCome along and enjoy a

fantastic home-from-home atmosphere.

No jukebox or fruit machines,just relaxed background musicand a selection of board games!

Tapas now being served,various dishes available:Mon-Fri 5pm-10.30pm,Sat-Sun 2pm-10.30pm

1 Market Place, Cockermouth,Cumbria CA13 9BZ

www.bar1761.co.uk 01900 829282

1761 is proud to be inCAMRA’s Good Beer Guide2009. Our four hand pumpsserve excellent real ales, with

two ever-presents: Yates Bitterand Jennings Cocker Hoop

plus two other guest ales,including beers from Barngates,Corby, Dent, Derwent, Hesket

Newmarket, Keswick,Loweswater and Stringers

breweries. We also serve a widerange of wines, hot beverages

and soft drinks.


Jennings workersin Cockermouthgive the brewery afinal lick of paint.

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Breweries fight back after November floods

As we went to press, flood-damagedJennings Brewery were nearly readyto resume brewing again. All thebrewery staff had been working hardto get the brewery back up andrunning since last November’s floodsleft the Cockermouth site under fivefeet of water.

To make sure customers were stillable to stock the beers over the holidayperiod – such as Jennings Bitter,and nationally-available brands suchas Cumberland Ale, Sneck Lifterand Cocker Hoop, brewingtemporarily moved to Jennings’ sisterbreweries in the Marston’s group.

Jennings head brewer, JeremyPettman, said: “We decided to do thisto ensure that our customers were notlet down. They were produced underthe supervision of myself and otherJennings staff. We worked hard to getas close to the flavours of ourCumbrian beers as possible. As soonas the brewery fully re-opens, theproduction of all our beers will bemoved back to Cockermouth.”

Jennings were donating 10p fromevery pint of its beers sold in pubsacross Britain to the Cumbria Flood

Recovery Fund. General managerGaynor Green said: “There arehundreds of pubs up and down thecountry that stock Jennings beer, sowe hope that this is a way for peoplewherever they are to support thepeople of Cumbria.”

The snow and ice after Christmasmeant a slight delay as contractorsfound travelling difficult and theywere were waiting for parts for theboiler. All electrical control panelswere installed on the first floor toprevent damge if the building floodsagain and the well has been pumpedout twice and was due to be tested inmid-January.

caption

Eddie Brew

© Kevin Nutter

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Let’shaveabrew!

6 WhatAles?WINTER 2010

How about other local breweries?Sue and Phil from the Keswick

Brewery report: “We abandoned thebrewery on the Thursday evening aftermoving everything off the floor andhoped for the best. We were lucky, thewater came right to the door but didnot come in!”

“The Bitter End BrewingCompany’s new site, to which wemoved less than a month before thefloods (Steve Hebblethwaite writes)at Derwent Mills, Cockermouth, wassurrounded by floodwater andinaccessible to those without waterskis! We waded across on the Friday,as the water level began to fall, in orderto assess the extent of the damage, andwe were relieved to find little damage.

Had we been a few yards downstreamit could have been a very differentstory. The bridges being down, orclosed, makes deliveries to and fromthe brewery harder, but we just haveto go the extra mile – literally!” Formore info, see Steve’s blog atwww.bitterendbeer.blogspot.com

The Great Gable BrewingCompany (producers of the award-winning and delicious Yewbarrow)was another small brewery in theprocess of moving out of a pub – inthis case the Wasdale Head Inn – intolarger premises at the time of thefloods. Howard Christie reports thatthey are hoping to be up and runningat the the Bridgend Industrial Estate,Egremont by February. �

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This brilliant mapshowing all 26 of thebreweries in Cumbria(produced byWestmorland CAMRAbranch and which hasraised lots of moneyfor the flood appeal) isstill available. Butstocks are low socontact Chris deCordova for a copy,by email [email protected] or byphone on 0194662986. (Price £10 or£12.50 posted)

NewsTo support theCockermouthMountainRescue Teamboth 1761 andthe KeswickBrewingCompany aredonating 5p perpint from everypint of ThirstRescue sold at1761. 1761 nowhave a KeswickBrewingCompany beeron the barpermanently.

The Dog andGun inKeswick (ourpub of the yearin 2007) hasreceived aHighlyCommendedin the BestFreehouse inthe Northwestcategory of TheGreat BritishPub Awards2009, hosted bythe MorningAdvertiser.

We were sad tohear of the deathof John Carlin,of the AllerdaleCourt Hotel inCockermouthand ourthoughts go toKay, family andfriends.

Renamed as anInn in June 2008to remind youthat you can justpop in for a pint,and arguablyone of the besthomemade piesin the County

A rotatingselection ofsome of thefinest local ales including Yates,Hawksheadand Keswick aswell as a rangeof other qualitybreweries

WEST CUMBRIA CAMRA PUB OF THE SEASON SPRING 2007

CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE SINCE 2005

Supporting Cumbrian Ales

Gosforth Hall Inn, Gosforth, Cumbria CA20 1AZTelephone: 019467 25322 Email: [email protected]

West

Cumbria

CAMRA Pub

of the Year 2008

runner-upGosforth Hall Inn Local courtesy 12-seater busavailable: ringfor details

Real Fire – Real PubSmall Parties catered for anytime

The Swan Inn

Kirkgate, Cockermouth 01900 822425

Opening hours: 6-11.30 M-Th / 6-12 Fri / 11-12 Sat / 12-11 Sun


Our annual beer festival is now apermanent fixture in the Whitehavencalendar, and went ahead on Friday20th and Saturday 21st Novemberdespite the atrocious weatherconditions and floods across manyparts of West Cumbria.

Stephen Walker reports: “Ourattendance numbers were slightlydown on previous years. As usual wehad groups of people who travelledfrom across the north of England, andwe were well supported by folk fromWhitehaven, but understandablythere were not so manyvisitors from other parts ofWest Cumbria and some of theorganisers faced long detoursdue to closed roads to get to andfrom the festival.”

But our seventh festival here

since 2003 was a big success as thefewer number than last year in factsampled more real ale this timeround, probably due to more beers oflower ABV (a special request after lastyear’s event). And the efforts ofvolunteer rescuers was recognised bythe CAMRA members and supporters

attending the festival. “Wehad already selected theRNLI as our festival charitythis year, in recognition oftheir rescue work indisasters affecting localpeople,” says Stephen. “Butwith the floods hitting west

Of the 500 peopleat the festival, 114were CAMRAmembers fromWest Cumbria.

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Cumbria that weekend,beer festival customerswere even readier thanusual to reach into theirpockets and support thecharity.” £342.36 wasdonated at the festival. Weare also keen to thank ourmain festival sponsors,Jennings brewery, who wereflooded on the opening day ofthe festival (see pages 5-6).

Tasting notes for every beerwere compiled by a group ofbranch members on the Thursdayafternoon, in order that theprogramme listed exactly what was onthe bar, with a clear description of eachale. Ron and Stephen typed up theinformation and printer Mike Taylor atMaryport ran off the programmes onthe Friday morning in time for thepunters entering the festival thatlunchtime. Mike himself had been uptill the middle of the night helpingrescue flood victims in Cockermouth,as a member of Maryport InshoreRescue, so a big thank you to him too!

Of the 36 beers on sale, two thirdswere from Cumbrian breweries and therest from other parts of the North ofEngland. Visitors included a group of sixJapanese tourists, who enjoyedsampling from the range of beers onoffer from Cumbrian breweries.Gypsy’s Kisswas voted ‘Beer of thefestival’ –from the WC brewery inChester, a copper coloured ale withspicy citrus hops. Runners up wereTête à Tête from theStrands brewery,Nether Wasdale, andMount Cook fromTigertops in Wakefield.

There was new featurethis year (see pages 27-28).

Lynda Johnston, of the Prince ofWales at Foxfield and leader ofthe local CAMRA Tasting Panel,ran two sessions helpingdrinkers understand theprinciples and pleasures oftasting beer. Tasting sampleswere provided and the sessionswere informative and muchenjoyed by those present.

As well as the beers therewere a number of ciders

enjoyed, Millwhites-RumMaturedat 7.5% ABV, Hecks-Blakeney Rsd Perry, 6.0%,Hecks-Port Wine OfGlastonbury, 6.0%, Wm Watkins-Perry, 6.0% and Westcroft-Janet’sJungle Juice at 6.0%. And our beersincluded some of the best local brewsand some specially brewed for thefestival such as Great Gable’s SmokeyHow (4.5%), the aforementionedTête à Tête from Strands, BitterEnd’s Festive Ale (4%) andHardknott’s Stout Baaaa 4.6%).Several of these were being speciallybrewed for the festival, and many arenot widely available, and there was agreat selection.

The Festival organisers would liketo thank the following for theirsponsorship in the form of Festivalglasses, T-shirts and CD music: BitterEnd Brewery, Cumbria LegendaryAles, Jennings, Great Gable Brewery,Hardknott Brewery, Strands Brewery,

The Whitehaven BrewingCompany Ltd, Yates Brewery,Fellside Records and to TheCandlestick pub in Whitehaven,Jennings and Strands Breweryfor donating beers.

We look forward to our next real ale festival inWhitehaven! � P

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“This one’s still wet!”

The t-shirt soldout, but a newbatch has arrivedso if you want one,hurry, they are£10 each. Ordersto Helen Walker [email protected]

The Watermill is an award-winning friendly Lakeland Inn, specialising in Real Ale,

Real Food and Real Atmosphere.

Our own on-site MicroBrewery Est 2006. Home of

the award winning ‘Collie Wobbles’.

Up to 16 Real Ales on at once,all on traditional hand pulls.

Excellent food 12-4.30pm & 5-9pm all week. Varied menuand constantly changing Chefs Specials Board.

01539 821309 www.Lakelandpub.co.uk

Watermill Inn & Brewing Co

Ings Village, near Windermere

The Globeat Hensingham,Whitehaven

Monday to Thursday: 5pm to 12 midnightFriday, Saturday &Sunday:12 noon to12 midnight

Real local, real fire,real food. Real ale:changing constantly

West Cumbria CAMRA’s

Pub of the Season

Summer 2009

95 Main Street, Hensingham CA28 8QX 01946 590772

Shipping Brow, Senhouse Street, Maryport CA15 6ABHome of the World Giant Vegetable Championships!Home cooked food. including the best fish ‘n’ chips inBritain! Meals served 12-3 and 6-9.

Open 7 days a week, 12-12. Tel: 01900 814636

Come and try a pint of quality real ale in the harbour area at Maryport

Four hand pumps: Jennings Bitter, Cocker Hoop and two other real alesbrewed in Cumbria

Home-cookedbeef or chickencurry plus pint of real ale only £5 every Friday

THE TITHE BARN 41 Station Street,

Cockermouth CA13 9QW

Open 11am-11pm, Sunday: 12-10.30

Closed all day Mon

Telephone: 01900 822179

Website: www.tithebarn-

cockermouth.co.uk

Great food andgreat real ale!

Four hand pumpsserving the best of

including Bitter,Cocker Hoop,

and seasonal ales

MINERSARMS INNCAMRA

Award-Winning Pub:Winter 2008-09REAL FIRES

Four hand pumpsserving Jennings

Bitter, Mild and guest ales all year round

Church Road, Broughton Moor

01900 810131

Home-cooked evening meals served:Wed, Thur, Fri & Sat

6pm – 8.30pmLunches served: Thurs, Fri, Sat12 noon – 2pm

Large decked area to rear

Beer festival 29th-30th May


Promoting local real ales

LocAle is a Campaign for Real Ale(CAMRA) initiative that promotespubs stocking locally-brewed real ale.The scheme builds on a growingconsumer demand for quality localproduce and an increased awarenessof ‘green’ issues.

Everyone benefits fromlocal pubs stocking locally-brewed real ale: � Public houses – as stocking localreal ales can increase pub visits;� Consumers – who enjoy greaterbeer choice and diversity;� Local brewers – who gain fromincreased sales;� The local economy – becausemore money is spent and retainedlocally;� The environment – fewer ‘beermiles’ results in less road congestion

and pollution; and� Tourism – due to an increasedsense of local identity and pride. Let’scelebrate what makes our localitydifferent.

Over the next couple of months theWest Cumbria CAMRA Branch will be

determining the qualifyingcriteria and invitingpremises who qualify to

participate. A formal launch will takeplace once we have sufficientparticipants.

Should you wish to consider beinga participant and require moreinformation on how the initiativeworks, please contact Pubs OfficerJim Chapple on 01900 827005 oremail [email protected],ensuring you put ‘LocAle’ in thesubject box. �

Miles better

Eddie Brew © Kevin Nutter

Blog roleWell done toCAMRA branchmember DaveBailey(owner ofThe WoolpackInn and theHardknottbrewery inEskdale). He waspresented with acheque for £500at the BritishGuild of BeerWritersAnnualdinner ceremony,held at The HiltonTower BridgeLondon inDecember. Hewas the runner-up in the BrainsSA New Mediacategory, for hisblog about thetrials andtribulations ofrunning a pub inthe remotestreaches ofCumbria. Hisblog is hardknott.blogspot.comandis rated on-line asone of the best topten beer and wineblogs according towww.wikio.co.uk.Informationabout the BritishGuild of BeerWriters can befound atwww.beerwriters.co.uk .


Over 50 enthusiastic beer lovers andbrewers from across Cumbria met atthe Middle Ruddings Hotel inBraithwaite last November, writesChris de Cordova. They enjoyed adelicious and inventive five-coursemeal, cooked with local produce,each course served with a Cumbrianbrewed beer, eight being availablealtogether. As part of the evening,awards were presented to brewersfor CAMRA’s choice of the best beersbrewed in Cumbria (listed right).

Mark and Lesley Corr at theStrands Hotel in Nether Wasdalewere delighted to hear their beer,T’err-minator (a dark smoothporter-style ale at 5.0% ABV), hadwon Champion Porter. “We’ve onlybeen brewing here for less than threeyears and I’m really chuffed thatCAMRA members like it so muchthey have given us this award.”

The beers were chosen by votesfrom CAMRA members in the fourCumbrian branches. The top eight ofthe beers in each category, chosen bymembers throughout GreaterManchester, Cheshire, Merseyside,Lancashire and the Isle of Man aswell as Cumbria, will go to regionalheats where the best of the eight,blind-tasted by a panel, will be

Champion Bitter ofCumbria, 2009:Hawkshead: BitterChampion BestBitter of Cumbria,2009:Hawkshead:Lakeland GoldChampion StrongBitter of Cumbria,2009: Beckstones:Rev Rob Champion GoldenAle of Cumbria,2009:Jennings:Cocker Hoop Champion Mild ofCumbria, 2009:Beckstones: BlackGun Dog Freddy Champion Old Ale ofCumbria, 2009:Hesket Newmarket:Old Carrock StrongAleChampion StrongMild of Cumbria,2009:Great Gable:Yewbarrow Champion ‘Real AleIn a Bottle’Cumbria,2009: HesketNewmarket: Doris’s90th Birthday Ale Champion SpecialityBeer of Cumbria,2009: Yates: SunGoddessChampion Stout ofCumbria, 2009:Stringers: No 2 Stout Champion Porter ofCumbria, 2009:Strands: T'err-minator

� Champion Bitter of the Northwest,2009:Jennings: Bitter

� Champion Golden Ale of theNorthwest, 2009: CumbrianLegendary Ales: Loweswater Gold

� Champion Speciality Beer of theNorthwest, 2009:Dent: Rambrau

� Champion Real Ale In a Bottle,Northwest, 2009: Great Gable:Yewbarrow

Champion Beer of Britain, our winners:

chosen to represent the area in theChampion Beer of Britain (CBOB)finals at CAMRA’s Great British BeerFestival in August. CBOB proceduresnow allow all of the 108,000 CAMRAmembers a chance to get theirfavourite beers into competition.

Also presented were thecertificates for Cumbrian beers thatstarted in last year’s competitionsand ended up as regional winners,going through to the national finals(see box below). ‘Yewbarrow’ wenton to win a national silver medal.

It was a marvellous evening: thefood, beers and company were allsuperb and it was wonderful tocelebrate our brewers’ successes insuch a memorable and importantway. � For more local awardsuccesses see pages 13 and 20

Cumbrian beer-lovers dinner 2009

Champion! Pictured: David Stubbins (Furness),Stephen Walker (West Cumbria); Phil Tuer(Solway), Pauline Latham, (Furness); andAlan Risdon (Westmorland) with JonKyme (Stringers Brewer)

Boot, Eskdale, Cumbria CA19 1TGTel 019467 23288 Website: www.brookhouseinn.co.uk

Brook House Innand Restaurant, in the heart of Eskdale

Hawkshead Bitter and Timothy TaylorsLandlord always available, plus Yates,

Jennings Cumberland and special guests(usually from small breweries in the North).

At busy times we have up to 7 real ales(10 at Beer Festival time) and a cider!


The West Cumbria branch of CAMRAenthusiastically declared thePunchbowl in Great Broughton, itsAutumn 2009 Pub of the Season.

The pub is one of Cumbria’shidden gems. Run since 1976 byShirley and Albert Charters; Albertwas a long distance lorry driver beforehe retired, and before that a merchantseaman. Sadly, Shirley died of bowelcancer in 2007, but Albert has keptthe pub going, with occasional helpfrom daughter Sharron Rourke.

The Punchbowl has been afavourite of CAMRA members formany years, because of its traditionalcharacter and warm welcome, and itspopularity increased further in 2001when Albert started selling guestbeers alongside the regular JenningsBitter. Since then Albert has soughtout an endless range of new anddelicious beers, which can come fromanywhere in the country. Regularvisitors are always delighted by thequality and variety of beers whichAlbert manages to provide.

The building originates fromaround 1600 and was apparentlyalways a pub with a blacksmith’s shopbehind the main building forreshoeing horses. A history ofBroughton tells us that LordLeconfield held his annual court in thePunchbowl; presumably for thepurpose of collecting rents, settlingdisputes and so on. In those days the

landlord would probably have brewedhis own beer on the premises.

In more recent times, the pub waspart of the State Management system,and sold the beer brewed in Carlisle(that’s another story!) Jennings boughtthe pub in 1972 from its sitting tenants,and Shirley and Albert moved therefrom the Huntsman in 1976.

Shirley was a tireless fundraiser fora number of good causes, includingcancer charities, and the family andcommunity of Great Broughton havecontinued to raise hundreds of poundsa year for local cancer and palliativecare services. Albert says that over£6,000 has been raised for local cancerservices and palliative care sinceShirley was diagnosed with cancer.Other charities supported by the pubinclude Cancer Research UK, Great

Albert, princeof real ales

� Report: Ros Berry � Pictures: Andy Smith & Bob Johnston

Shirley Charters,much-missedlandlady; right:Albert, still servinga great variety ofquality real ales.

Our pubof the season: Autumn 2009


CAMRA branch chairStephen Walkerpresents Nicola andPhil with their awardat the presentation inAugust; below right:the impressiveoutside and (bottom)the cellar.

1761, Cockermouth

North Air Ambulance, CockermouthMountain Rescue, Maryport InshoreRescue, Guide Dogs for Blind, and nowthe Cockermouth flood emergencyfund.

The outside of the pub isunassuming like so many Lakelandbuildings. The interior has hardlychanged since Shirley and Albert tookit over: it is like walking into the frontroom of a cottage, with a low ceiling,beams and floorboards showingthrough. There is nothing so modern asan electronic till – a traditional woodendrawer does the job. There is always areal fire burning on cold evenings, andthe walls are adorned with rugbyleague photos and memorabilia.

You will also get down to earthCumbrian ‘craic’ and tales of Albert’sseafaring days. Albert is always ready

19 Main Street,Great Broughton,CA13 0YJ (threemiles west ofCockermouth, off the A66)

01900 824708

Opening hours:7-11 (Mon-Thurs),

12-12 (Fri, Sat, Sun)

with a quick witted response; one ofhis regular customers couldn’t findhis keys as he was about to leave.After some searching, they turned upin his coat lining. ‘Thank goodnessfor that,’ quips Albert, ‘for an awfulmoment there I thought you couldn’tgar yam’.

The Punchbowl is truly at theheart of the village. It has regularlyfeatured in CAMRA’s Good BeerGuide, and been the recipient ofprevious awards, including Pub ofthe Season in Spring 2005 andrunner up to West Cumbria Pub ofthe Year in 2006.

Albert was delighted to receivethis award from chair MaryThompson. ‘The last few awards wehave made have been to pubs whichhave just re-opened, or where a newlicensee has turned around a failingpub,’ she said. ‘But it also gives usreal pleasure to honour a licensee likeAlbert who just keeps on doing agreat job, and has been doing so foryears.’ Albert said it was the first onehe has received since running thepub on his own. With his unswervingenthusiasm and commitment to realale, it probably won’t be the lasteither. �

The Punchbowl, Great Broughton

Braithwaite, Cumbria CA12 5RY (just off the A66 between Keswick andBassenthwaite lake) Tel: 017687 78436

Website: www.middleruddingsco.uk Email: [email protected]

� Braithwaite’s best kept secret� Excellent local real ales from Keswick, HesketNewmarket and Barngate breweries and others

� CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2010 � Warm andfriendly � Passionate approach to good food

using mainly Cumbrian produce � Comfortableen-suite rooms � Bar open all day

West Cumbria CAMRA Pubof theSeasonWinter2006-07

www.yatesbrewery.co.uk

With a backdrop of stunning views of the Solway Firth and Scottish hills, Dawn, Mary and their teamwelcome you with local cask ales from the nearby Derwent and Yates breweries plus Jennings.Home-cooked food – made to order, 7 days – using only the finest locally sourced and fresh produce.

Open 12 till 12, 365 days a year 01900 881337 www.lowther-arms.co.uk

A pub at the heart of the community CAMRAPubof theSeasonSpring 2008

The Lowther Arms Mawbray,near Allonby


Defying a miserable, rainy Novemberday – a week before the horrendousfloods – a group of West CumbriaCAMRA members were invited downto the Cumbrian Legendary Alesbrewery, just outside Hawkshead.Although it’s in the Furness branch’sarea it’s now owned by Roger andHelen from the Kirkstile Inn atLoweswater and is therefore brewingsome of the beers our branchPub of the Year is famous for.

Compared to the tiny areathat Roger, original brewerMatt Webster and HayleyBarton had to work in at thepub, the new brewery is veryimpressive. After Matt hadpoured us all a much-neededdrink, Roger explained: “We werebrewing about three and a half barrelsa week at the Kirkstile. At CLA we canbrew 20 barrels a week. We are takingdelivery of a third fermenter inJanuary and so we will be able to brew30 barrels a week when we need to.”

CLA’s permanent beersare now Melbreak (a3.7% session bitter),Dickie Doodle (Agolden bitter at 3.9%, nowmade with Loweswateryeast), Grasmoor (a4.3% dark ale, full of

complex, roasted flavours),Langdale (a fruity 4% bitter with anorange citrus flavour) and the award-winning Loweswater Gold (atropical-tasting golden ale at 4.3%,which is brewed using three maltsincluding lager and Maris Ottertogether with German hops).

Cumbrian Legendary Ales brewery visit

Right: MattWebster pourssome LoweswaterPale Ale and Goldfor us to ‘test’.

Below: Hayley,Roger Humphries(centre) andbranch officersStephen and HelenWalker.

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Text &pictures: Andy Smith

mineGold


Medals“Cumbrian brewsdid well in theNorth regionalawards for theSociety ofIndependentBrewers (SIBA)National BeerCompetition2010, writes Jim Chapple. Keswick (ThirstCelebration)picked up aBronze in theStrong Alescategory.Barngates (RedBull Terrier)picked up a Silverin the Bottled(Dark & Strong)category, andCLA (LoweswaterGold) wereawarded Gold inthe Bottled(Golden Ales)category.Loweswater Goldwas also votedoverall winnerfor all bottledbeers. Roger andHayley werethere to receivetheir award.Fingers crossedfor the final inFebruary.”

Loweswater Pale Ale (‘LPA’)and Rannerdale will be brewedoccasionally as ‘seasonal’ beers.

Loweswater Gold has been a bigsuccess, pulling in awards in the lastyear and Roger agrees. “It’s ourflagship product and we are brewingat the moment about 10 barrels aweek. Everyone seems tolike it and it is becomingquite well known both asa cask product and inbottles.”

Last year Roger decidedto stop bottling beersthemselves and have themcommercially done. “Weplan to bottle Grasmoor,Langdale and Gold on apermanent basis and ofcourse we now have 8% CroglinVampire in 330ml bottles.”

Hayley is head brewer now and herenthusiasm was clear as she gave us atour of the brewery. Roger also brews

from time to time. “There are twoother full-time members of staff downhere as well as Hayley,” he says. “Steveis our main delivery person and Daveassists in the brewery. Matt also has apart time sales and marketing roleand is our main contact for pubs who

would like to take ourbeers.”

“It’s fair to say thatwe have beensurprised by thelevel of sales sincebrewing here.Although it’s hardwork we are allreally enjoying it.”

So what’shappened to the

brewing kit at the Kirkstile?“We sold it to the Mardale Inn nearShap,” says Roger, “who hope to startbrewing soon. The old brewery will indue course become another bedroomfor us to let”.

Roger and the team are are alsoplanning another Loweswater beerfestival on 23rd, 24th and 25th April.“Last year’s was a great success, andpeople interested can phone the pubfor further details.”�Brewery: 01539 436436;www.cumbrianlegendaryales.com�Kirkstile Inn: 01900 85219�

>>>

Head brewer Hayley Barton

shows off the Maris Otter malts.

“Thank goodnessthat’s the end of therain!”

The end resultson the bar at theKirkstile Inn.

Boot, Eskdale, Cumbria CA19 1TH 019467 23230 [email protected] www.woolpack.co.uk

Tasty farmhouse lunches, quality evening restaurantmenu, selection of the best Cumbrian microbrewedales and Dog Rough cider. More than just a pub!

West CumbriaCAMRA PUB OFTHESEASONAutumn 2008

In CAMRA’s

Good BeerGuide

2006,2007,

2008,2009,

& 2010

Serving eight Cask Marque quality real ales & great food 7 days a week 47Main Street, Keswick Tel: 017687 72663

BANK TAVERN

– The Award-winning BRIDGE INN at SantonBridge

www.santonbridgeinn.com

Gateway to Britain’s Favourite View

Santon Bridge, Holmrook, Cumbria CA19 1UX019467 26221 email: [email protected]

Open all day, every day

for a selection of SIX REAL ALES,

“Real” food,Sunday Carvery,

Log Fires,Dogs Welcome,

Accommodation, Licenced for

Civil Marriages and Partnerships

Great selection of real ales from Cumbria and the British IslesExcellent food served daily, lunchtime and evenings

Superb seafront beer gardenAccommodation available all year round

Calder House HotelSeascale

Calder House Hotel, The Banks, Seascale, Cumbria, CA20 1QPTel no: 019467 28538 www.calderhouse.co.uk

Unbeatably Good FoodPrivate Parties and Functions

En-Suite AccommodationA SELECTION OF

FINE CUMBRIAN REAL ALES

www.parksidehotelcumbria.co.uk

PARKSIDE HOTELCleatorMoor

01946 811001


We hope you enjoy your free newsletter from West Cumbria CAMRA. What Ales? ispublished four times a year (in January, April, July and October), has a print-run of upto 4,000 copies and the distribution goes well beyond the boundaries of West Cumbria,helping attract visitors to the area. It can only be produced through revenue fromadvertising and we thank those licensees and breweries who have advertised in thesepages, many of whom tell us of the success of their adverts. How about joining them?

RATES: Single issue Four issuesBack Cover (Full Page only) (*) – (contact us)Inside Front & Inside Back Covers (Full Page only) (*) – £431Full Page £97 £347Half Page £54 £189Quarter Page £29 £105

(*) Subject to being availableAll full colour, with free design assistance if required.Advertising copy is subject to being suitable and in a form acceptable to the co-editors.Terms of payment: Prompt full payment on receipt of invoice. Payment required prior toassistance being given with copy design.� Contact Jim Chapple email: [email protected] or tel: 01900 827005

Advertisers and contributors please note:Deadline for the Spring 2010 issue: Monday 22nd MarchWhat Ales? will be out in April 2010


free

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Get your personal copy of What Ales?delivered to your door. Please send detailsof your name and address accompanied bya cheque or postal order, made payable to“CAMRA West Cumbria Branch” for £3.00(to cover post and packaging) to JimChapple, 33 Castlegate Drive,

Cockermouth CA13 9HD, to receive apersonal copy of the next four issues bypost. Your copies will receive priority overnormal distribution.

Offer available to United Kingdomaddresses only. For overseas pleasecontact Jim Chapple for rate.

Licensees and breweries of West Cumbria:advertise your pub or brewery in these pages

Readers: never miss an issue of What Ales?.....


�What was the first pint of realale you remember?“AdnamsBitter, straight from the barrel in theback bar of the Maid’s Head Hotel inthe centre of Norwich in 1973. I wasthere to study at the University of EastAnglia. The Students’ Union bar alsoserved Adnams and it was only 17p apint in those happy days! (Note: Clivehas not always been a vicar. Born inBarrow he taught music in Cumbrianschools before his ministerial trainingand he also travelled widely teachingand doing voluntary service.) �Favourite beer of all time? “I associate beers with different timesand places. Adnams never tastesright outside of East Anglia. ButTimothy Taylor’s Landlord is anexcellent beer that seems to travelwell, and it has stood the test of time.”�Favourite Cumbrian beer? “Inmy younger days a pint of HartleysXB brewed in Ulverston. For me itwas the ‘taste of south Lakeland’.There are so many good breweries inCumbria today. I always enjoyHawkshead Bitter when backhome in Furness, and Foxfield is agreat place to visit for their beer. Herein Aspatria I enjoy any of theDerwent brewery beers we get at theGrapes Hotel.” (Note: Clive is a‘regular’ there and is a member oftheir Quiz Team. They always have aDerwent on the handpump.)� Favourite foreign beer?“Bestever was a draught beer in a Czech pubin Prague well off the tourist trail in theearly 1990s. Another memorable onewas a cold White Cap of KenyaBrewery on the terrace of the CastleHotel in Mombasa, after a hard day’steaching at a school there in the 1980s.”�Favourite style of beer?“Bitteror best bitter; something hoppy andnot too strong – I don’t wish to be seenstaggering home.” (Note: it is onlyabout 300 yards to the Vicarage fromthe Grapes but vicars must alwaysappear sober to their churchwardens!)

�Favourite pubs of all time?“The Bay Horse at Ireleth nearDalton-in-Furness (now alas closed)…. especially when Beryl Ireland, nowat the Swan Inn, Cockermouth, hadit. Many happy hours spent therewhen I lived in the village; friendlylocal with lively conversation, pubgames, real fires and even a realpiano... In west Cumbria it has to bethe Kirkstile Inn at Loweswater –with great beer and excellent food inone of the finest settings in Lakeland.”�Favourite bottled beer?St Peters Best Bitter, nicely full-flavoured. I was able to buy it inBooths, a supermarket which alwayshas a brilliant choice of real ales inbottles even though it is not a cheapsupermarket chain.� What would you say to peoplewho haven't tried real ale? “Enjoythe beauty and variety of one ofBritain’s great hand-crafted products.I saw a fridge magnet the other daythat said: ‘God created beer becausehe wanted people to be happy’. But inmoderation only, of course!”�As told to Bruce Wood, a Life Member of CAMRA from Clive’s parish.

Beer talking

with Clive Shaw (Vicar of Aspatria withHayton and Gilcrux)

Are you, or doyou knowsomeone whowould be, a goodcandidate for‘Beer talking’?Email us [email protected]

WHITTINGTON CATLowther Street,Whitehaven 01946 67170

Jennings Bitterandguest realalenowonLivesportsonTVandhome-made food

Brown Cow Inn Waberthwaite, Cumbria LA19 5YJ01229 717243 www.thebrowncowinn.com

Phil and Becca Chapman welcome you to the Brown Cow at Waberthwaite.

We are a community inn nestled on the west coast of the lakes.

We offer up to seven fine cask alesincluding beers from Hawkshead

and Lancaster breweries and a Mild always available.

(Two miles south ofRavenglass on A595)

We only use local award-winning butchers for our steak. We have four en-suite letting roomswith bed and breakfast. We are close to the mountains and the sea… Unfortunately we do nothave public transport so you may need a designated driver. We look forward to your visit!


As you will have already read, we havejust run our seventh beer festival atWhitehaven. This year we wanted toadd something new to proceedings,writes Stephen Walker.

As a malt whisky fan I haveattended a number of events wherethere has been a ‘masterclass’, usuallyaround tasting – although the lastmasterclass I attended was about‘nosing’ rather than tasting! This ideaseemed to be worth pursuing so Icontacted the head of CumbriaCAMRA’s tasting panel and asked herif it was feasible and if so, could shehelp out? Lynda and her husbandStuart own the Prince ofWales, Foxfield and theattached brewery, so I wasdelighted when they agreedto run two masterclassesduring the Saturdayafternoon.

Stephen and Lyndaget ready to tastesome crackers.

“Hmmm, I’mgetting Bakelite...”

We discussed the theme for thesessions and decided to consider tasteprofiles of the different styles of beerrepresented at the festival. Thesessions, advertised during thefestival, had six people in each tasting,ranging from complete novices to abrewer! Lynda suggested the beersthat we should taste, with a view tothe styles she wanted to profile.

The first style tasted was bittersand the beers compared wereFoxfield’s New Big Breakfast,Yates’s Golden Ale and Robinson’s

Dizzy Blond. Lynda andStuart tutored us throughhow the tongue works andwhere on the tongue thedifferent taste receptorsare. It was also interestingto discover that we alltaste differently and somepeople have poor

Beer tasting masterclass

Tips for the tongue

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receptors for different tastes.Lynda struggles to taste sweetness.There are five tastes: Bitterness,saltiness, sourness, yeastiness andastringency that we should all be ableto recognise. In addition to tasting thebeers, Lynda and Stuart gave ushandouts on detecting faults in beersand what alters the flavour of beer.

Having tasted each beer wediscussed the taste profile and whatwe could detect. What surprised mewas that a beer I thought I enjoyed Idiscovered from spending timeanalysing the taste profile that it wasnot as nice as I had thought! Just goesto prove that too much analysing canbe bad for you!

In addition to the bitters we alsocompared milds and stouts.

I was concerned when I discoveredthat in the second session therewould be a brewerpresent. Would this be ofinterest to him? I neednot have worried. He toldme that he found thesession very useful and

that it was probably the mostinstruction he had ever had! I enjoythis particular brewer’s beers so I wasimpressed that he produces such goodbeers without having had a lot offormal teaching.

During the sessions we discussedthe less acceptable tastes in beers.Lynda recounted a tale of where shetasted a beer that was to be served atthe pub but realised that there couldbe something wrong. The beer tastedof burnt Bakelite! (How does sheknow what that tastes like?) When shecontacted the brewer he said therehad been a problem with the heatingelement disintegrating and this wasobviously the cause of the taste.

The sessions were verysuccessful, and not onlyshould they be repeated atthe next festival, perhapswe can hold more tastingclasses... let us knowwhat you think. �

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Taste tips�Make sure thebeer is served atthe righttemperature. Toocold, it loses manyof its complexflavours. Toowarm, it candevelop some youdon’t want andquickly losescondition. �Beer shouldlook good. Itshould becolourful andbright and if it ismeant to have asignificant headof froth, thisshould be thickand creamy. �Use your nose!The best way tosniff your beer iswith a glass whichis half-empty.Give it a quickswirl, place yourhand over theglass to hold inthe aromas andthen take a nicedeep breath. �As you takeyour first taste,notice thesweetness fromthe malts at thefront of yourmouth while drybitter flavoursfrom the hopsdominate theback of yourmouth as youswallow and learnto appreciate the‘finish’.

“This New Big Breakfast is good. If you donot want to drink it you can always eat it!”

Join the Campaign for Real Ale

Wes

t Cum

bria

Bra

nch

new

slette

r Wha

t Ale

s? W

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r 20

10

Just fill in this application form (or a photocopy of it if you don’t want to ruin your copy of What Ales) and theDirect Debit form below to receive three months’ membership FREE! If you wish to join but do not want to pay byDirect Debit, please fill in this application form and send a cheque, payable to CAMRA, to: CAMRA, 230 HatfieldRoad, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 4LW.

Please tick appropriate box Direct Debit Non Direct DebitSingle Membership (UK & EU) £20 � £22 �For under-26 Membership £14 � £16 �For 60 and over Membership £14 � £16 �

Title____ Surname_____________________ Forename(s)____________________ Date of Birth______

Address_________________________________________________ Postcode__________________

Email address____________________________________ Signature___________________________

Partner (for Joint Membership): Title___ Surname______________ Forename(s)___________ DOB_________

Your membership will make a difference. For just £20 a year you can helpour work to promote real ale, protect consumer rights and support pubs.Benefits include a monthly newspaper, quarterly magazine, free entranceto beer festivals and discounts on books and the Good Beer Guide.

For partners’ joint membership add £5 (Partner must live at the same address). Life membership information is available onrequest. If you join by Direct Debit you willreceive three months’ membership extra, free!


As I write, the big freeze means gettingto favourite pubs is proving tricky!Luckily some of ours are on a mainroad so Ron and I are not completelydeprived. But it is a hard time for somelicensees when even most localregulars are stuck for travel, so aspecial note of sympathy for them….

I guess we all also keep theCockermouth and Keswick folk inmind who were affected badly by thefloods – they could have done withoutbitter cold weather when trying to dryout and restore things. Our advert inWhat’s Brewing and reportage in localpapers has sent out a cheerful andspirited message however, and I hopeall concerned feel encouraged by that.

Branch meetings are busy just nowwith doing the groundwork for entriesfor CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2011 .Nominations are in and pubs beingsurveyed – not easy just yet withcountry lanes being ice-bound. At ourFebruary meeting we will make thefinal selection of 22 entries and sendthem in. Next job is to collectnominations for Branch Pub of theYear (POTY) – please send yournomination to me or to StephenWalker if you cannot get to Februarymeeting at Blackbeck Inn, Beckermet.

There has been lots to attend to inthe last months including a verysuccessful beer festival in Whitehaven.We have also had to figure out(literally) how to manage thearrangements for transport tomeetings and campaigning activities –west Cumbria is so wide-spread, and Iknow most members cannot take

advantage of the bus we usuallyorganise. Ron and I and our Vice-Chair, Chris Hale, do car share, but ofcourse one person always has to limitbeer tasting – usually me! But it’sworth it to keep involved with thebranch and see friends monthly.

Finally – yet another greatcampaigning activity led by ourtireless Jim Chapple and StephenWalker – we are going to establishLocAle in our area, which will supportlocal breweries and make acontribution to being greener andmore energy-efficient (see page 13).And that leads to my last bit of news.The branch has nominated JimChapple as our candidate for CAMRACampaigner of the Year 2010 –congratulations Jim. Chris deCordova was also a favourite and weshall put her name forward in 2011.

It is not too late to say ‘Happy NewYear’, and Ron and I look forward togetting round as many real ale pubs aspossible on our bikes in the betterweather!� Mary Thompson, branch [email protected]

News from West Cumbria branch CAMRABranchmeetings

Wednesday 3rdFebruary, 8pm atthe BlackbeckBridge Inn,Beckermet CA222NY(Five minutessouth of Egremonton A595)

Wednesday 3rdMarch, 8pm at the Lifeboat,Maryport CA156AB (ShippingBrow, SenhouseStreet)

Wednesday 7thApril, 8pm, at theParkside Hotel,Cleator MoorParkside, CA25 5HF(on A5086)

�For transportphone Steve on07854 643 274 oremail him [email protected]

Don’t sit on your POTY

www.

westcumbria

camra.org.uk

January’s branch meeting: going throughthe nominations for the Good Beer Guideas the snow and ice caused havoc outside.Luckily the Middle Ruddings atBraithwaite was warm and cosy...

If you have notreceived a correctmeasure, and/or a ‘top-up’ has been refused,or if a price list is notdisplayed contactTrading Standards:Head Office: 01539 773594;Cockermouth:01900 325980

TradingStandards

The Strands Inn& Brewery

NetherWasdale

West Cumbria CAMRA PUB OF THE YEAR Runner-Up 2009In the CAMRA GOOD BEER GUIDE 2010

The Strands Hotel / Inn, Nether Wasdale, Cumbria CA20 1ETTel: 019467 26237 Fax: 019467 26122

Email: [email protected] Website: www.strandshotel.com

The Strands Hotel has its own Micro brewery on the premises, completed February 2007, started shortly after, brewing only for the hotel.

Awarded Cumbria CAMRA Champion Porter 2009 for T’Errmm-inator

Accommodation: We have 14 bedrooms with a variety of double and twin roomsBar: A selection of cask conditioned ales are available in our traditional lakeland bar

Restaurant: The evening menu is available from 5.00pm till 8.30pm and is sourced using as many local products as possible.

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