Category: Branch News

Welcome to your Bolton CAMRA Branch Update

May Branch Meeting

The next branch meeting will be held on Thursday 2 May 2024 at Bolton Ukrainian Social Club, 99 Castle Street, Bolton BL2 1JP. The evening will start with the presentation to the club of the Club of the Year Award at 7.30pm and the meeting will follow at 8.00pm. 

Handpump Hijack

For generations, a handpump on the bar has been a sign of quality cask ale. Where cask is well kept, consumers can be sure of a spotless cellar, well-trained bar staff and a commitment to offering the best of UK brewing.

Now, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company – one of the world’s largest brewery conglomerates – has resorted to misleading consumers by hijacking the handpump to serve its “Fresh Ale” product. CMBC says this is “preserving the beloved hand pull ritual that delivers the traditional theatre of serve that ale is famed for”.  

What is ‘Fresh Ale’?

One of the factors that makes cask unique is that it doesn’t leave the brewery as a finished product. Instead, the conditioning that completes the brewing process is done at the pub, and relies on the skills, timing and experience of the staff and licensee.

On the other hand, most beers, including lagers, some kegged beers, and ‘Fresh Ale’ are ready to drink when they leave the brewery. These beers have a longer shelf life, and can be easier to serve, usually through a keg tap.

Brewers often make both these types of beer, and CAMRA believes they should market them accordingly, so consumers know what they’re getting. ‘Fresh Ale’ is not a cask beer, and hijacking a handpump to sell it as if it were is unfair and misleading to pub-goers.

So far, CMBC has three beers in their ‘Fresh Ale’ range. They are Wainwright Gold, Wainwright Amber and Hobgoblin IPA. At least one other brewer has launched a ‘Fresh Ale’ product designed to look like a cask beer at the bar.  

CAMRA believes consumers deserve better than CMBC play acting at serving cask – a product they claim to champion while closing breweries and removing cask lines from bars. Our handpump hijack campaign calls on brewers to be proud of all their whole range of beers by serving them in a way that won’t mislead their customers. CAMRA has written to National Trading Standards and Trading Standards Scotland asking for an investigation into the products, and whether the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations have been breached. It’s hoped that Trading Standards bodies across Great Britain will take coordinated national action to address this misleading practice.  

You can help by:

Letting us know if you come across ‘Fresh Ale’ in your local. You can do this by using the ‘Send an email to the CAMRA branch’ button at the bottom of the relevant WhatPub venue page to alert your local branch.

Send us photos of ‘Fresh Ale’ pump clips.  We need to find examples! Email or tag us on social media.

If in doubt, Ask if it’s Cask. We need consumers to make licensees aware of the issue of misleading dispense and explain why you won’t be buying it.

For more information go to CAMRA’s Handpump Hijack page. 

Local Elections

Elections to Bolton Council take place next Thursday 2 May and candidates from a number of parties will be seeking your vote. The Council is responsible for planning and licensing and therefore even individual councillors can have an influence on decisions which affect Bolton’s hospitality industry. If candidates come knocking on your door, why not take the opportunity to ask them what they would do, if elected, to protect Bolton’s pubs and clubs and encourage a thriving hospitality sector in the borough.

Clubs

There are currently around 50 clubs of various kinds listed on WhatPub in the branch area, from sports and social clubs to political clubs and others. Unfortunately the information we have on many of these clubs is quite sparse. In particular, we want to know whether these clubs serve real ale and whether they are happy to welcome CAMRA members in to drink it. We have over 700 members in the branch and I’m sure some of you drink in these clubs. You may even drink in a club that isn’t listed at all. If you do, please go on to WhatPub and update the information. Even better, please score the beers and give your local club a chance of being selected as our branch Club of the Year next time.

Wherever you enjoy a tipple, keep on supporting quality beers, particularly those produced by our local breweries and keep an eye out for those Fresh Ale pumps!

Cheers

John Mitchell

Chair

Branch: Bolton

Meet at One for the Road in the Market at 1.00pm.

The 125 Stagecoach bus runs regularly, every 15 minutes during the day from Bolton Interchange which will take us to Bunburys and then on to Horwich. Adult bus fares are £2 per journey but as we stop off at Bunburys a System One ticket for £5 is the best price.

One for the Road, Stalls F14 to F15 Ashburner Street Lifestyle Hall, BL1 1TJ, 2 changing ales. Food available in the market.

Bunbury’s 397 Chorley Old Road, BL1 6AH, micro pub with 3 changing ales

Bank Top Ale House, 36 Church Street, BL6 6AD, 4 regular and 5 changing ales including 1 guest

B33R@33, 33 Lee Lane, BL6 7AX. 2 changing ales

Blackedge Brewery Bar, Moreton Mill, Hampson Street, Horwich, BL6 7JH, 3 regular Blackedge ales and 4 changing from Blackedge. Food available from 1pm

Crown, 1 Chorley New Road, BL6 7QJ, 4 regulars from the Holts stable and 4 changing ales. Food available

It is important that we support our local pubs and be seen to support them. Therefore, if you have a CAMRA t shirt or polo shirt, please wear it if you can.

It is hoped that all pubs will have a mild beer but if not there will still be some good beers to enjoy.

If you need information on the day, please contact Gill on 07967585670

Meet at Winckley Street Ale House at 1.00pm. There are trains from Bolton at 12.08 and 12.22 arriving in Preston at 12.35 or 12.58. Please check the price depending on the type of ticket you need. There is the 125 bus from Bolton to Preston which runs regularly. The journey time from Bolton is just over 90 minutes. Bolton 10.59 (11.14), Horwich Ale House 11.25, (11.40), Preston 12.38 (13.11).

Here is a selection of the pubs we can visit.

Winckley Street Ale House, 8B Winckley Street, PR1 2AA, 4 cask ale, 10 keg. Food available

Black Horse, 166 Friargate, PR1 2EJ. Robinsons pub, 9 cask ales including 6 changing. Range of pies

Orchard, Earl Street, PR1 2JA, 3 cask, (food available on the market)

Guild Ale House, 56 Lancaster Road, PR1 1DD, 7 cask ales

Plug & Taps, 32 Lune Street, PR1 2NN, 4 changing cask ales

Chain House Brewing Taproom, 139-141, Market Street West, PR1 2HB, 2 cask ales, 8 keg

If you need any further details or need to contact on the day, please contact social@bolton.camra.org.uk or call Gill on 07967585670

There is a rail strike on 6 April. The social has been changed to Chorley.

The 125 bus runs from Bolton Interchange every 15 minutes. 125 buses leave Bolton Interchange from stand P every 10 minutes with the journey taking just under one hour.  A Central Lancs Day Rider costs 5.90. which would allow a stop off in Horwich on the way home if required. Bus times 11.59 (12.14) arriving in Chorley at 12.53(13.08). Catching the bus in Horwich outside the Ale House the times are 12.25 (12.40)

Meet at the Malt’n’Hops at 13.00 where sandwiches and pies are available at very reasonable prices.

Malt’n’Hops, 50-52 Friday Street, PR6 0AA – 7 changing ales

Shepherd’s Hall Ale House,  67 Chapel Street, PR7 1BS – 8 changing ales

Ale Station, 60 Chapel St. PR7 1BS, 6 changing ales

Nelipots, 53 Chapel Street, PR7 1BU – 2 changing ales

Bob Inn, 24 Market Place, PR7 1DA –  3 real ales, 1 real cider

Flat Iron, (formerly Market Tavern), 21 Cleveland Street, PR7 1BH – 3 real ales, 1 cider

If you need any further details or need to contact on the day, please contact social@bolton.camra.org.uk or call Gill on 07967585670

There is a rail strike on 6 April. The social has been changed to Chorley.

The 125 bus runs from Bolton Interchange every 15 minutes. 125 buses leave Bolton Interchange from stand P every 10 minutes with the journey taking just under one hour.  A Central Lancs Day Rider costs 5.90. which would allow a stop off in Horwich on the way home if required. Bus times 11.59 (12.14) arriving in Chorley at 12.53(13.08). Catching the bus in Horwich outside the Ale House the times are 12.25 (12.40)

Meet at the Malt’n’Hops at 13.00 where sandwiches and pies are available at very reasonable prices.

Malt’n’Hops, 50-52 Friday Street, PR6 0AA – 7 changing ales

Shepherd’s Hall Ale House,  67 Chapel Street, PR7 1BS – 8 changing ales

Ale Station, 60 Chapel St. PR7 1BS, 6 changing ales

Nelipots, 53 Chapel Street, PR7 1BU – 2 changing ales

Bob Inn, 24 Market Place, PR7 1DA –  3 real ales, 1 real cider

Flat Iron, (formerly Market Tavern), 21 Cleveland Street, PR7 1BH – 3 real ales, 1 cider

If you need any further details or need to contact on the day, please contact social@bolton.camra.org.uk or call Gill on 07967585670

April Branch Meeting

The next branch meeting will be held on 4 April 2024 at the Spinning Mule Nelson Square, Bolton. The meeting will begin with a presentation by a member of the team at Lord’s Brewing Company  of Huddersfield who are brewing some ales exclusively for J D Wetherspoon. Members should have the opportunity to taste the beers and hear about how they are made. This will be followed by a short branch meeting. Please note the earlier starting time of 7pm.

Awards Season

With the Oscars out of the way, it’s now the turn of Bolton CAMRA Branch to hand out its awards for the Pub, Cider Pub and Club of the Year. The winners this year are:

Pub of the Year

Winner – Bank Top Brewery Ale House, Horwich.
Runner-up – Blackedge Brewery Bar, also in Horwich.

Cider Pub of the Year

Winner – Beer School, Westhoughton.
Runner-up –   B33R@33, Horwich.

Club of the Year

Winner – Bolton Ukrainian Social Club, Bolton.
Joint Runners-up – Bradshaw Cricket Club.
                               Heaton Cricket Club.

Congratulations to the winners and finalists. Presentations are being arranged and everyone is welcome to come along and celebrate the best real ale outlets in the Bolton branch area. Check the branch website for details. 

Spring Budget

The Chancellor delivered the Spring Budget on 6th March 2024. 
 
CAMRA’s key ask was a significant 20% reduction in the duty charged on draught beer and cider to help consumers, pubs and small brewers. We also used the opportunity to push our other messages including a VAT cut and changes to the rules around draught takeaway sales from draught duty-paid containers. 

There were three relevant announcements made by the Chancellor: 
•    Alcohol duty will be frozen until February 2025 for all types of alcohol.
•    New funding for community ventures – which we are hoping will include pubs.
•    Increase in the VAT registration threshold for small businesses – though this may not help the majority of breweries, cider producers and pubs.

Whilst these measures were welcome, the general feeling was that this was a missed opportunity to give real support to the hospitality industry during these difficult times. CAMRA’s press release can be read here.

Save Your Local Pub

CAMRA has recently released data on the number of pub closures during 2023. The headline figures show that 1293 pub businesses closed last year with 194 either demolished or converted to other uses. Bolton is not immune from this trend with a number of pubs closed, either waiting for new tenants/managers or in the worst cases, being the subject of planning applications for a change of use. On the positive side, there continues to be a steady stream of new openings – 296 across the country in 2023 – but the overall picture is still pretty gloomy.

If you find your local pub is in danger of being lost forever and you want to take action to stop it becoming another of these statistics, CAMRA may be able to help. Nationally, CAMRA has guides that can provide  in-depth support and advice on the practicalities of campaigning to save a pub, options available, and how to use the planning system to combat unwanted change. The CAMRA branch also has local knowledge of the relevant contacts to help you get in touch with the right people. The branch can be contacted at pubs@bolton.camra.org.uk whilst the national guides can be accessed here.

The thing to remember is that in order to keep drinking quality real ale, we need places to drink it. The best way to make sure your local pub thrives is to keep supporting it, so, as the first signs of Spring appear and the evenings get lighter, why not head out to your local pub or club and enjoy a pint or two. 

Cheers!

Thanks
John Mitchell
Chair