Author: manchestercamra

Lifeline for the vacant Crown at Worthington?

Hopes are high for the future of a former Wigan pub as news emerged of buyers interested in restoring it to its former glory. The Crown at Worthington, located on Platt Lane in Standish, has been closed since January of last year, sparking fears that the site would become increasingly attractive to developers who have…
Source: Wigan CAMRA Pub News

Manchester Beer and Cider Festival

You probably know the Greater Manchester branches of CAMRA organise the magnificent Manchester Beer and Cider Festival and have done so since its inception four years ago. We have now found our new (and hopefully permanent) home in the centre of Manchester in the Manchester Central Convention centre – which you may know better as G-Mex – and are already planning for the 2018 (24th – 27th January) and the 2019 (23rd – 26th January) events. 

While we have an excellent Organising Committee, there is always room for new blood and new and different skills. We want to give more members the opportunity to get involved in the festival and want to assure every CAMRA member in the region that we are by no means a closed shop.
Can you help?
Professional qualifications that would make our event better:
  • Do you hold a Security Industry Authority badge – or would you like to be trained to get an SIA badge? We have paid for several members to gain such qualifications that some have then used to gain a new form of employment or enhance their own employment opportunities.
  • Are you already, or have been, employed in the pub or brewing industry?
  • Do you have design skills?
  • Event Management skills?
  • Organisational skills?
  • Or are you just willing to get involved to ensure that our event becomes better and better every year?

     

Beer knowledge – if you have visited the event as a customer you will be aware of how big the event has become and how modern the event has become. 
Are you interested in craft beer? We now sell craft beer in both keykeg and cask form. 
We also research and purchase foreign beers from all over Europe. 
Have you an interest in Cider and Perry? Mead? Fruit wines – then yes, we have bars that sell these.  You could help us source and sell them.
Customer care and ‘back room’ skills:
Do you have customer care skills? Interface well with the public?  Or are you a “back room” person? We have opportunities for anybody who wishes to stay in the background whether during or before the event.
  • We need help in designing posters, website work, designing beer mats, thinking up a logo, ordering polo and T shirts for sale.
  • Are you interested in food? You could organise the food for the Volunteers from a local hostelry? Or organise many other things?
  • You could get involved with selling VIP packages?
  • You could meet and greet people coming to the event?
  • You could help to serve beers to customers who have paid for tasting sessions?
  • Know your way around websites and coding, or systems automation?  We need you.
There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer for all aspects of the festival, both before and during it.


Many of you will have skills from your working life that we could use in the organisation of the event or during the event itself.  To reassure you, many jobs in these days of electronic communications and the good old fashioned phone don’t involve a lot of time at meetings, so perhaps you could think of offering us a little of your time and helping the campaign at the same time? We’re also keen to recruit deputies – so you could work alongside more experienced members to get a feel of festival organisation.

It’s not all one way
There are benefits to helping organise a beer festival…
  • We reward all participants with free beer (or cider).
  • Free Volunteers T-shirt.
  • Commemorative Polo pr T-shirt at cost price
  • Free food during set up and take down.
  • Organised nights out during set up.
  • Some travel and accommodation benefits.
  • A volunteer party with food, drink and awards.
  • The pride you’ll feel of putting on a nationally-recognised event that attracts more than 13,500 visitors and serves over 62,00o pints.
I promise you that you’ll be very welcome and you’ll make new friends for sure. You can do as little or much as you feel able.  If this is for you, or you want to know more, just drop me an email or ring me at the number below, or go to 
  Graham Donning
Festival Organiser

Source: Bolton CAMRA Events & News

Festival ales and pie to nourish jazz fans

Visitors to this year’s Wigan International Jazz Festival will not only get nourishment for the soul from some of the finest musicians on the planet but also be able to tend to their physical hungers with a new range of specially commissioned food and drink. Following the success of their festival beer last year, Wigan’s…
Source: Wigan CAMRA Pub News

Manchester stakes claim as cask capital of Britain

Manchester Beer Week       

 

Manchester has emerged as the cask beer capital of Britain, following a major new study into the beer sold in the city’s pubs and bars.

The Manchester Beer Audit 2017 found 411 different cask ales on sale in venues throughout the Manchester City Council area, beating nearest rival Sheffield, which boasted 385 beers in its last survey, as well as Nottingham (334), York (281), Norwich (254), Derby (213), and Leeds (211).

The survey also confirmed that Manchester is leading other cities in kegged “craft” beers too, with 234 different beers on sale throughout the city, an increase in variety that has been sparked by the recent boom in craft brewing.

More than 80 independent breweries now operate across Greater Manchester and these breweries account for 38 per cent of all cask beers on sale and 36 per cent of craft keg beers.

“The figures confirm what Mancunians already know – this is one of the best beer cities in Britain and possibly the best place in the world to enjoy great cask beer,” said Connor Murphy, organiser of Manchester Beer Week.

“Manchester has a healthy respect for cask and not only is there a huge variety available but the quality of cask ale in this city is hard to beat. The growth of craft keg beer is also heartening and raises hope that our independent brewing scene can continue to thrive and grow.

“But venues could still do more to support the independent Mancunian brewing scene. Although variety remains important and it is great to try beers from across the world, the fact that less than 40 per cent of all available cask and craft keg beers are from Greater Manchester shows there is still room for improvement.”

CAMRA Regional director Graham Donning said: “Our volunteer members took little persuading to comb the city’s pubs and bars. The audit united branches, and confirmed Manchester as top of the cask league. With so much choice, I’d recommend drinkers use CAMRA’s Whatpub.com site to help find the city’s real ale offerings.”

The Manchester Beer Audit 2017 was organised by the Greater Manchester Branches of CAMRA (The Campaign For Real Ale) in association with Manchester Beer Week and saw 311 pubs and bars surveyed by more than 100 volunteers on one day in May

It found 824 handpumps and 1,957 keg fonts on bars across the city, with 72 per cent of all pubs and bars selling cask ale.

Guinness is the most common beer in the city, appearing in 50 per cent of all venues, while Sharp’s Doom Bar and Joseph Holt Bitter are the most common cask beers, found in 31 and 29 venues respectively.

However, Robinsons is the most prominent cask brewery, featuring in 36 venues, while Manchester’s own Shindigger topped the craft keg charts, featuring on the bar in 23 venues.

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Manchester Beer Audit was carried out on Saturday May 20, 2017 from Noon to 5pm.

The survey covered all pubs and bars in the Manchester City Council area which were open during the survey period including the City Centre and suburbs from Wythenshaw to Chorlton, Gorton to Crumpsall.

About Manchester Beer Week

Manchester Beer Week is Manchester’s only city-wide beer festival, taking place between June 23 and July 2, 2017.

Unlike most beer festivals, which take place in one specific venue, Manchester Beer Week will include a series of different events at venues across the city, including pubs, bars, breweries and restaurants.

The aim is to raise awareness around good beer and promote Greater Manchester as one of the United Kingdom’s premier destinations for beer enthusiasts.

www.mcrbeerweek.co.uk

About CAMRA Greater Manchester

The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) has 9 branches across the region with over 8000 members.

The consumer group organises the annual Manchester Beer & Cider Festival which will return to Manchester Central in January 2018 as well as local beer festivals across the region,

Media contacts

Connor Murphy, event organiser
Telephone: 07824 557 927
Email: manchesterbeerweek (at) gmail.com

David Rigby
Press Officer – CAMRA Greater Manchester
Telephone: 07538 702875
Email: press (at) mancbeerfest.uk

The Rivi Walk

As part of the Bolton CAMRA anniversary celebrations, we are having a beer walk on Saturday, 17th June 2017.

Set off from The Brewery Bar, Horwich,  at 1.30pm for a mile and a half saunter alongside Rivington Reservoir to 3 bars open to the public that day.

The Spring Cottage: 2 key-kegs

The Rivington Bowling Club: 2 cask beers

Rivington Brewery at Cunliffe Farm: 2 cask ales, 2 key-keg plus food.

Followed by a return walk (or taxi ride) to Horwich.

Download a printable map : RIVI-BEER-WALK-MAP

All welcome, booking not necessary.

 

 

 

 

Source: Bolton CAMRA Events & News

Bolton CAMRA 2017 Mild Trail – Saturday 20 May

Bolton branch annual mild trail will start in Bolton this year at Great Ale in the market meeting at 12.30pm. Moving on we catch the 125 bus from the bus station* to Bunburys, Chorley Old Road, arriving at approximately 1.30pm. The trip will continue on the bus to Horwich where we will visit the following pubs (timings are approximate)

 

Bank Top Ale House, Church Street Horwich                         3.00pm

Horwich Conservative Club, 123 Church Street, Horwich (TBC)

Blackedge Brewery Bar, Hampson Street, Horwich

The Crown, 1 Chorley New Road, Horwich

Our Mild Trail is always a good day out and a great opportunity to catch up with branch members. If you need more information email social@bolton.camra.org.uk or if you can’t make the start and want to catch up with us, please call Gill on 07967585670

 

*The System One Any Bus Day Saver costs £5.20 (at the time of posting) and can be bought on the bus. This ticket covers all buses in Bolton (and the Greater Manchester travel area).

Source: Bolton CAMRA Events & News

Cider Pub of the Year 2017 – Presentation Evening

The Sip Club in Stretford recently celebrated their third birthday with a party night at the Barton Road bar. Trafford & Hulme branch took the opportunity to present them with the Certificates for their Cider Pub Of The Year award along with those for being runner Up in LocAle Pub Of The Year and Community Pub Of The Year. Pictured is assistant manager Krista with branch chair John O’Donnell.Sip Club Cider POTY17 3

Source: Trafford & Hulme

Good prospects for the Ben Jonson

The Ben Jonson pub in Goose Green re-opened on 7th April 2017 after a period of closure. Matt, the new licensee, is a keen supporter of real ale and was previously employed at the Lychgate Tavern in Standish. On opening night Prospect’s Silver Tally and Nutty Slack accompanied Sharps Doom Bar and Thwaites Wainwrights on…
Source: Wigan CAMRA News

Branch Social – 22 April

Branch Social: Bolton wander

22 April 2017

 

As a branch we don’t go around Bolton town centre very often but we are going to correct this in our monthly branch social for April. We will meet at Great Ale at the market at 1.30pm on Saturday 22 April. After a beer or two we can move on to some of the other pubs around the centre of Bolton.

We can choose from the following:

Hen & Chickens, 143 Deansgate, Bolton, BL1 1EX

Barristers bar, 2-4 Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1HJ

Olde Man & Scythe, 6-8 Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1HL

Old Three Crowns, 14 Deansgate, Bolton, BL1 1BR

Hogarths, 37-41, Churchgate, Bolton, BL1 1HU

Spinning Mule, Unit 2 Nelson Square, Bolton, BL1 1JT

Alma Inn, 152 – 154 Bradshawgate, Bolton, BL2 1BA

Ending up at Great Ale at the Vaults.

Can’t meet us at the beginning? Never mind call Gill to find out where we are. No booking required just turn up on the day

 

Gill Smart

Social Secretary

07967585670

Source: Bolton CAMRA Events & News