Category: Branch News

Press release Dobcross Band Club COTY 2022 winner

Dobcross Band Club hits top note.

A brass band’s home in the Saddleworth hills has scored first prize as it is named Greater Manchester CAMRA’s Club of the Year.

Dobcross Band and Social Club has been a key part of the village community for many years, and has recently dominated the local branch’s choice as its nomination. But this is the first year it has won over regional judges drawn from the membership of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

The club moved away from a tie with a local brewery and now offers members a choice of four real ales, with Mossley brewery Millstone’s Tiger Rut and Joseph Holt’s Bitter equally popular. The last few months has seen a rare regional appearance for Bowland brewery’s Hen Harrier, alongside popular Middleton brewer J W Lees.

But judges mark more than just the choice and quality of drinks on offer. They described the club as “faultless with a friendly welcome and spotless throughout”. They praised the steward’s knowledge of real ale, and were impressed with the wide range of activities from snooker through exercise classes to a book lending library. And all admired the views from what is probably the best located bowling green in Greater Manchester.

CAMRA’s regional judging organiser Tony Evans said: “Our adjudicators are drawn from across the region, although the local branch is not involved in assessing its own nominee. They look for a strong commitment to the local community, and whether the venues are in tune with the wider aims of CAMRA. A friendly welcome and knowledgeable bar staff also feature highly in their assessments. But obviously the condition of cask beer is uppermost.

“Clubs have had to adopt to changing social and spending patterns. Many hospitality premises have had to review opening hours to align with business. Dobcross Band and Social Club manages to open seven days a week and rewards its members with lower bar prices while welcoming all.”

John Holden has been steward at Dobcross for almost 40 years. His commitment to the Club has been recognised by members who named the recently-refurbished comfortable lounge in his honour. And throughout he has championed real ale, picking up awards for the consistently excellent condition of his cask beers. He said: “This is wonderful news. I was proud when the Rochdale, Oldham and Bury branch of CAMRA first named us as its Club of the Year. I always aimed to keep winning, but I didn’t expect this regional award.

“There’s no secret to our success – a welcoming atmosphere keeps customers happy. The committee are always supportive and in tune with the promotion of real ale. Weekends are busy, but band practices mean the club is well-used during weekday evenings too. And we’ve got great hard-working staff, most of whom live local.”

John and club chairman Terry Lawless will be presented with the award on October 8th at 1.30pm. Dobcross will now compete with other regional winners for the national title in the autumn.

Image shows John Holden,Dobcross Band Club Steward.

Further information

David Rigby, Press officer, Greater Manchester CAMRA

07538 702875

press@camragreatermanchester.org.uk

Bolton CAMRA Branch Social – Torrside Brewery Tap – Saturday 24 September 2022

Torrside Brewery Tap is open from 12.00-20.00. There are two stations at New Mills. Travelling to New Mills Central is £13.00 with a 15-minute walk to the brewery. New Mill Newtown is nearer but costs £16.50. However, split tickets can save money. There are regular trains to New Mills and Northern are running an offer of a limited number of £1 tickets but they will soon go. Normal prices of a split ticket from Bolton to New Mills Newtown.

An example is catching the 10.22 from Bolton station to Stockport arriving at 11.01 costing £7.10 but those with a bus pas which includes the train can do this for nothing. Catch the 11.08 from Stockport to New Mills Newtown arriving at 11.39 at the cost of £6.00

The suggestion is that people make their own arrangements for the train and meet after 12.00 at the Brewery Tap.

I won’t be going but if you need information on the day please contact me, Gill on 07967585670


Source: Bolton CAMRA Pub News

Club of the Year 2022 – Buxworth War Memorial Club(HPTNEC Branch)

Sue McGrath, licensee of Bugsworth War Memorial Club, was presented with the High Peak, Tameside & NE Cheshire Club of the Year 2022 award by High Peak CAMRA
chairman Ben Zwierink in May 2022.  This excellent club also won the award in 2019 and 2020, and acts as a real centre of the local community.

Source: High Peak, Tameside & NE Cheshire News

Special Award for Cellar Man

Saturday 14 May was warm and sunny as members of the High Peak Tameside & NE Cheshire branch of CAMRA, joined by a small party from Stockport & South Manchester, took the train to Chinley for a
special presentation to cellar manager Barney Hanna at the Old Hall Inn.  It’s only a short walk from Chinley station down to Whitehough and the Old Hall, and its sister pub the Paper Mill across the road.  Both pubs are known for the quality of the cask beers. This is down to the sterling work of Barney, who is an all-round beer enthusiast, and the award was in recognition of his efforts.

He started at the Old Hall as a bartender in 2017 but was promoted to cellar manager the following year. He explained to Opening Times: “When I first started, I had very little experience of cellar work but
quickly developed a passion for serving well-conditioned cask beer the way it should be. I’ve enjoyed learning about the history and how it’s developed over the years, and I love learning about new styles, but I’ve still got a soft spot for traditional cask best bitters and ESBs.”  During the lockdowns, Barney also started home brewing and now runs a full-mash kit, and kegs his beers. He has a long-term  ambition to start his own brewery, too. He has already been to Torrside in New Mills to brew a special beer for the Old Hall. 

In addition, both pubs have benefitted from significant investment over the past couple of years. At the Old Hall, the large garden now features big stretch tents for a combination of outdoor and under cover drinking (see our Beer Gardens feature on page 19). Meanwhile the Paper Mill has been extended into a neighbouring cottage to include another drinking area, and also displays of beers and wines to take away. The Paper Mill also has a delightful hidden beer garden at the back.


Source: High Peak, Tameside & NE Cheshire News

Torrside Brewery Scoops Gold

Torrside brewery is celebrating after scooping gold for the Beer of the Festival at the recent Stockport Beer and Cider Festival. From a selection of around 200 beers, Torrside Brewing’s Bardo, a 9% Imperial Stout, was voted the favourite tipple by thirsty drinkers.

But thanks to the pandemic, the beer nearly didn’t get brewed. In early 2020, Nathan Pratt, of the Sheffield Homebrew Club, won a first prize for Limbo, his 5.5% stout, at the Stockport & S. Manchester (SSM) CAMRA homebrew competition. The reward was to visit a commercial brewery and brew the beer so it could be sold to the public.

Then along came coronavirus and things were put on hold. Finally, two years later, Nathan went to Torrside Brewing in New Mills to brew his winning beer. Nathan also agreed with the Torrside brewers that they should produce an Imperial 9.0% version of the beer at the same time, and this was named Bardo. Both beers made their public debut on Bar Nouveau at the Stockport Beer & Cider Festival in June and quickly sold out.

In late July, Nathan returned to Torrside, where the Chair of SSM CAMRA, John Clarke, presented both Nathan and the brewery with their awards.
Chris Clough from Torrside Brewing said “It was a delight to host Nathan and his enthusiasm is reflected in the fact that the beers have won awards. In fact, they have been so successful that we intend to brew them again in the autumn, and it is likely that some of the Bardo will go into our barrel-aging programme for release later in 2023”.

Nathan added “Thanks to John Clarke and CAMRA for organising the competition and Torrside for hosting me. It has allowed me to experiment and it was great to see my recipes being enjoyed by the public. This has spurred me on and I will certainly be entering some more beer in next year’s competition”.

John Clarke commented, “Our homebrew competition, where beers are blind-tasted by a panel of enthusiasts, publicans and brewers, has been running since 2016 and sets high standards. It covers a variety of styles and gives category winners a chance to work with commercial breweries. We are grateful to Torrside and others for helping to bring their beers to a wider public. As well as featuring at the Stockport Beer & Cider Festival and in local pubs, some of the winning beers have been spotted as far away as London during the summer”.

Details of how to enter the 2023 competition will be revealed in the Autumn – please contact Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA.

Nathan Pratt (left) and Chris Clough of Torrside Brewing are pictured below with their certificates.

SSM Torrside Bardo Gold Presentation


Source: High Peak, Tameside & NE Cheshire News