Real ale News

Special real ale for Wildfowl Trust

2006-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:00

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) has teamed up with the Wye Valley Brewery to launch a limited edition brand of beer as part of the celebrations for their 60th anniversary.

‘Two Swans Bitter’ brewed by The Wye Valley Brewery in Hereford is now available in bottles at all nine WWT centres aswell as local farm shops and off-licenses and from October will be available on tap in pubs throughout central England.

John Gardner of Wye Valley Brewery, said: “As a brewery that is local to Slimbridge we are keen to support the wonderful conservation work achieved by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. We are lucky to have such a beautiful place that is so important for wildlife right in our midst and we welcome the opportunity to be part of their celebrations.”

The new limited edition brand ‘Two Swans Bitter’ features a picture of Bewick’s Swans in graceful flight to resemble the painting by Sir Peter Scott the artist and naturalist who founded WWT Slimbridge 60 years ago in 1946.

Speciality beers enjoying spectacular growth

2006-03-05T08:03:00.000-08:00

The British beer-drinking palette is becoming more adventurous with speciality beers enjoying spectacular growth in the drinks industry.

Adnams, the Southwoldpbased brewery which has been brewing beer for over 130 years, has experienced a 292% increase in sales of their bottled speciality beers over the last five years.

Experts point to low-cost worldwide flights and cheap weekend breaks as the reasons for the popularity explosion of speciality beers.

Gourmet drinkers are also becoming more adventurous, increasingly ordering speciality beers to drink with meals instead of wine. And do not just think that speciality beers are only for real aleaficionados - according to leading beer writer Roger Protz, "Golden Ale is a rapidly growing style of beer and one that will appeal to younger drinkers and women.”

Adnams is venturing into the blonde beer arena with the March launch of Adnams Explorer – a beer that combines the finest Chinook and Columbus hops from across the Atlantic with the traditional cask beer brewing Adnams is famous for to create a light and refreshing beer with citrus notes and grapefruit aromas.

Adnams Explorer is best enjoyed in Adnams new bespoke glassware, specifically designed to enhance the drinking experience, bringing out the beer’s natural flavour and aroma.

Gastronomically speaking, Adnams Explorer is great for every occasion, in a pub or at home, and partners well with foods such as smoked ham, whitemeat, fish and spicy dishes.

Adnams Explorer fast facts:

• A light and refreshing premium blonde beer

• Introducing citrus and grapefruit aromas

• New World hops combined with traditional Adnams brewing

• 5.5% ABV, fantastic served chilled

• 84% of beer drinkers in the Anglia region and 65% in London happily choose or name Adnams as their first choice.

National Pub of the Year announced

2006-02-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) today announced that The Swan, Little Totham, Essex, has fended off competition from thousands of other pubs in the country to win the prestigious title of “National Pub of the Year 2005”.

It is the second time The Swan - a 16th century cottage style pub - has won the coveted award. The last time was in 2002 and owners John Pascoe and his wife Valerie say they could not be more delighted that their hard work and attention to detail has been recognised once again – particularly as the pub was threatened with closure before they took it over.

John Pascoe said: “This is like being awarded 10 Michelin Stars!”

“When the pub was up for sale the parish council made representations to the selling brewery begging to keep it as a local pub for the community rather than being converted into housing.

“Valerie and I moved in on the 12th of June 1996 and worked on the pub with family and friends until it was in a fit state to open on the 14th of June at 7pm – we took £124.”

“At first we parked our cars in the front car park to make it look busy and had our meals sitting outside in the garden for the same effect.

“From those early days we set out to get the pub recognized by CAMRA and have been delighted with the level of support we have received from local branches.

“We would like to thank all of our regular customers, villagers, CAMRA members and friends for their custom and hope to welcome even more visitors in 2006.”

The presentation of the award will take place at The Swan on Friday February 17th at 1pm to mark the beginning of National Pubs Week 2006 which runs from February 18th to the 25th. The aim of the campaign is to encourage more people to visit pubs regularly at this quiet time of the year for the trade.

In CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2006 The Swan is described as “An Architypal heavy beamed village pub. The unspoilt public bar has billiards and darts, while the comfortable saloon has open fires.”

Bob Stukins, CAMRA’s Pubs Director and one of the final judges said: “It has been wonderful to be able to revisit The Swan three years after it last won National Pub of the Year and see that it is still a shining example within the industry. Through their devotion to maintaining the very highest quality in all aspects of the pub John and Val have prospered and shown others what a marvellous asset the community pub can be.”

Mike Harvey, CAMRA Regional Director for East Anglia, said: “I always make a point of calling into the swan whenever I can because it is such a pleasure to visit there. John and Valerie have taken a pub that was once threatened with closure and turned it into a magnet for real ale enthusiasts from across the country.”

Bob Stukins added: "We are awarding National Pub of the Year in the build up to National Pubs Week to highlight what we believe makes a pub great. If pubs are to survive in today’s competitive leisure industry, then it is important that they become more marketing focused.

“Licensees need to find out what their locals want, organise events and promote them accordingly. Unfortunately the day has gone when people just visit a pub because it is a pub. National Pubs Week offers the perfect opportunity to experiment with organising and promoting events to see what impact these can have on business."

National Pub of the Year 2005 Finalists

WINNER: The Swan, Little Totham, Essex. 01621 892 689

The Check Inn, North Wroughton, Wiltshire. 01793 845584.

Old Coach House, Southwell, East Midlands. 01636 813289

Robin Hood, Jarrow, Tyne & Wear. 0191 4285454

Ventnor Brewery. Smoked or real Oyster ale? The choice is yours!

2006-02-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Ventnor Brewery, based in Ventnor, Isle-of-Wight, started brewing beer in 1840. And today, 166 years later, through many, many different hands, it is still brewing some of the best real ales that you can buy.

These are some of the beers that Ventnor brews:

Golden Bitter 4.0% abvGolden Camra Award winner Best Beer 2002, 2003 and 2004 A smooth hone- tasting beer which goes down very easy. They describe it as their main "session beer" It is a single hop beer using English Goldings. Not available bottled.

Oyster Stout 4.5% abvThey believe this is the only Oyster Stout brewed in the UK using real oysters! (ED. Probably the only one in the world, never mind the UK!)

It is a very dark beer, with a smooth taste. The locals call it "Black Viagra" due to the oysters in it! It's said to be popular with the ladies. It is good with food, especially meat dishes. I tried this at the BBC Good Food Show. Not to everyone’s taste, but it is a flavoursome pint. Or two…

Sandrock Smoked Ale 5.6% abvThis was originally brewed as a bottled beer for the Tesco Spring Beer Challenge 1999, Sandrock Smoked Ale was developed using peated malt smoked over smouldering peat in Scotland, to create a smooth yet very smoky ale. I tasted this one at the show, too. It is very different to anything you will have tried. It is gorgeous!

For more details on the beers brewed by the Ventnor Brewery please visit http://www.ventnorbrewery.co.uk/

Welcome to Real Ale News

2006-02-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

Real Ale News is for people like you, and me. People who enjoy real ales. There will be news about breweries, beers, beer festivals, good real food to help the good real ale go down.

Remember. Real beer is not just for Christmas. Real beer is for life!