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Category: Branch News
Bolton CAMRA Branch Update
Welcome to your Bolton CAMRA Branch update. I hope you have been able to enjoy a pint or two in the outdoors despite the poor weather and days when the moon seemed to shine brighter than the sun!
Summer Pub of the Season
On the subject of summer, the branch has chosen the Thomas Egerton in Egerton as its Summer Pub of the Season so congratulations to the team there. A presentation of the award is being arranged so please watch our social media for details.
Branch Meetings
There won’t be a formal Branch meeting in September, however, an informal get together will be held on 12 September starting at the Olde Man and Scythe, Bolton at 8 p.m. and possibly moving on to other venues in the town centre as the evening progresses.
The October branch meeting will be held on TUESDAY 1 October at 7.30 p.m. at the Beer School, Westhoughton. The meeting will be followed by a beer themed quiz. Everyone is welcome, as always, and we will be hoping to attract some new members to join the branch.
General Election
The general election seems like a long time ago but we now have a new government in Westminster and two new MPs in Bolton. CAMRA is engaging with the new ministers who have responsibilities relevant to the Campaign. In particular, CAMRA will be pushing for greater legal protection for pubs one year on from the sudden demolition of the Crooked House pub in the Midlands. Further information on this can be found on CAMRA’s website here. I will be writing to our local MPs asking them to give their support to our local pubs, clubs and breweries.
CAMRA Experience
If anyone has looked at CAMRA’s national website recently, you will have noticed that it gives you the option of being redirected to the new website, known as the CAMRA Experience. The intention is to bring a number of separate websites (e.g. WhatPub and Learn and Discover) together so that they can be linked and accessed much more easily. The new version of WhatPub will also have a beer quality indicator giving pubs/clubs a score of one, two or three pint glasses. These scores will be based on the beer scores submitted by members. It is felt that showing scores this way will encourage licensees to keep their beer in the best condition. Beer scoring is the key to this and to ensure that our local cask ale outlets do not end up with three empty glasses, please score their beers when you visit. If you haven’t scored beers before, please read the guidance on how to do it on the branch website here.
Good Beer Guide
The Good Beer Guide is CAMRA’s flagship publication and the 2025 edition will be published in late September. Bolton has an allocation of thirteen pubs in the guide, but which pubs they are will not be revealed until the Guide is published. The branch is intending to hold a launch event on our around the publication date so please watch our social media for details.
Pub and Club News
The Victoria and Albert in Horwich is to reopen on 23 August after a major refurbishment. Up to five real ales will be on offer along with a cask cider. This should be another great addition to the already thriving real ale scene in Horwich.
Over in Harwood, the Seven Stars, now renamed the Plough, should be opening shortly following refurbishment. We are told cask ales will be on sale, adding to the allure of Harwood as a real ale drinker’s destination.
Astley Bridge Cricket Club will be holding its annual beer festival on 13,14 & 15 September. Nine ales and four ciders will be on offer. Entry is £5 including a glass and programme.
Maybe the often promised heatwave will materialise before Autumn sets in, but whatever the weather, a glass of cask ale in one of our local pubs and clubs will always make the day a little brighter.
Cheers
John Mitchell
Chair
EXTRA EVENT – Presentation of Beer of the Festival Awards
Presentation of the Gold and Bronze Beer of the Festival
The presentation is to brewers Blackjack and Steelfish and will take place at Station Hop in Levenshulme.
This venue was chosen because both beers were developed from the Home Brew Competition and both were submitted by a coalition from the Levenshulme Homebrew Club.
There is a good chance that Henry, after whom one beer was named, will be there wagging his tail at the success, so maybe bring a few doggy treats along as he isn’t allowed beer.
Station Hop is now supplied with most of its beers from Blackjack, so is effectively a brewery tap.
Bolton CAMRA – Bolton Local Social – Saturday 17th August 2024
Our August social will be in Bolton as it is easy to access by bus for many of us and we still have a couple of pubs to visit that we normally don’t visit and missed in our social in July. We can meet at One for the Road in the Market at 12.30-13.00. Food is available for anyone who wants to eat. The Greyhound is closed after the explosion, but should it be open again by 17 August we will call in.
One for the Road, Stalls F14 to F15 Ashburner Street Lifestyle Hall, BL1 1TJ, 2 changing ales.
Old Three Crowns, 14 Deansgate, BL1 1BR, Theakson Old Peculiar & 2 changing ales
Hogarths, 37-41, Churchgate, BL1 1HU, 2 changing ales
Prince Billy’s, 9-11 Bradshawgate, last time we called there was no cask, but we can call in again to check.
Northern Monkey Bar, Nelson Square, BL1 1AQ, 4 changing ales
If anyone has suggestions about other pubs with cask, we don’t visit please let us know.
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
The Moorfield Sale reopens – Sort of!
Frequent flyers of The Moorfield Sale will have undoubtedly noticed that it had closed for a while.
Well the good news is that it’s reopened as…. just merely ‘The Sale’ (Imagine the discussion at the marketing meeting coming up with that one!)
Anyway, after sampling what they have to offer at the Sale I can confirm that there are 4 handpumps, however, the Old Golden Hen wasn’t on despite the clip showing. When I pointed out the clip should be turned, this was met with silence and a blank stare. The practice of leaving pump signs visible when not on seems to be an industry norm now.
I tried the Deuchars (well kept but bland) and the Abbot Ale which was in decent form and just about merited a 3 score. 2 halves cost £4.60 so clearly not trying to compete with Wetherspoons and its ilk.
It seems like even more of a food pub now and beyond the bar, it has been given a restaurant feel (quite well done IMHO). Even the bar area, where the fruit machines remain, is geared up for food. There is a terrace and large patio area out the back in front of a large car park. This was very popular on the warm evening of my visit.
Service looked stretched and somewhat fraught and I assumed this was understandable teething problems.
Overall, a significant improvement and very pleasing to see real ale back on. The continuity of this and its quality should ideally be regularly checked.
It was nice to see a few people drinking cask from my observation.
Watch this space!
Bolton CAMRA – Torrisde Brewery Social – Saturday 27th July 2024
A trip to Torrside is always a good day out. Catch the train from Bolton to New Mills Newtown. The walk to the Brewery is about three minutes. Meet at Bolton station to catch the 10.54
I have checked the trains from Bolton and there is a train at 10.54 which arrives at Torrside 12.26 (including a 35 minute at Manchester Piccadilly). This train has an advance ticket of £6.00. There are return tickets between 16.39 and 18.10 which also has reduced advance tickets.
I suggest you look at the National Rail website to work out which is the best ticket option for you. Those with Bus and Train passes can travel most of the journey for free if they have the £10 train addition to the GM bus pass.
There is a slight possibility of action by ASLEF which could result in some trains being cancelled but it shouldn’t cause major disruption.
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
Pub of the Year 2024 – Northumberland Arms
Back in January 2024 we awarded the High Peak, Tameside and North East Cheshire Winter Pub of the Year award to the Northumberland Arms in Marple Bridge. “The Thumb”, as it is known locally, was then shortlisted for our branch Pub of The Year 2024. It was unanimously judged to be the best pub in our area by all the judges. On the 27th April the pub was very busy as we presented our Pub of the Year certificate.
This was already a special pub in the branch area. It is the only community owned pub. Originally a Robinson’s house it was put up for sale in January 2017. It was successfully listed as an asset of community value. A Community Benefit Society was set up and raised enough money to buy the pub by the end of Sept 2017.
There are 5 handpumps serving 3 or more ales including Track Sonoma and Robinson’s Unicorn alongside other, generally local, ales and a dark beer.
The pub is small and still has multiple rooms so has character that has been lost in many pubs today. A quick look at the notice board will show you how many community events are based at the pub. Although they do not have a kitchen they regularly have mobile street food outlets on the car park at the front. Football and sports are shown but do not dominate. There are plans to make further improvements to the building, create a community cafe and expand the small but perfectly formed beer garden.
While presenting the certificate, Peter Mitchell, branch secretary said
“…the three judges were unanimous that this was the best of the shortlisted pubs we had in the area. The pub is very good all around. It’s absolutely excellent on the community side. It’s owned by the community, it’s managed by the community and It’s totally engaged with the community, it couldn’t be more of a community pub. So I’d like to congratulate everybody who’s involved with it, the shareholders, the people who put up the money to buy it, the management committee who are unpaid and do a fantastic job and to Phil and all his staff who also do an excellent job and of course the community of drinkers who come in here and make it such a fantastic pub.”
The picture shows Peter Mitchell, branch secretary, presenting the award to the landlord, Phil Jarvis.
Bolton CAMRA branch update
June Branch Meeting
The next branch meeting will be held on Tuesday 4 June 2024 at the Blackedge Brewery Bar, Moreton Mill, Hampson Street, Horwich, BL6 7JH. The evening will start with the presentation to the bar of the Pub of the Year Runner-up Award at 7.30pm and the meeting will follow at 8.00pm.
General Election
As I am sure you will have heard, a General Election has been called for the 4 July 2024. CAMRA has set out its Manifesto for the election and its demands from the new government are:
Improved consumer rights – Consumers don’t currently have a right to clear information about the ingredients, price, dispense, or information about where drinks have come from and who owns the brands on the bar. We’d like to see this introduced by the next Government so consumers can make an informed choice about the products they choose, as well as a new consumer right to a full pint – which isn’t currently the law.
Access to market for small and independent producers – The pub market is largely owned by a few big players, making it harder for small, independent beer and cider makers to get their products in front of consumers. The next Government should work to open the market up, supporting these producers and creating more consumer choice.
Fair tax – The next Government should maximise the benefits of the new draught duty rate by extending the difference between tax paid on draught beer and cider in the pub and that sold in off-licenses and supermarkets. We’d also like to see them reduce VAT on beer and cider sold in the on-trade. Both these steps recognise and encourage the social benefits of consuming beer, cider and perry on licensed premises.
Planning protections for pubs – The next Government should improve planning protection and enforcement in England to prevent viable and valued pubs and social clubs being lost to unfair or unwanted demolition or conversion without serious and consistent consequences – including the power to order pubs to be rebuilt brick by brick if necessary.
Business rates reform – To recognise the community value of pubs, the next Government should undertake a full review of business rates in England to fix the unfair overpayment by the pub sector permanently and to make sure that online businesses pay their fair share compared to bricks-and-mortar businesses like pubs and social clubs.
Further information can be seen here and an e-lobby of candidates will be launched in the next week or so. In the meantime, 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.
Pub Closures
The CAMRA Branch is consulted as a matter of course on any planning application submitted to the Council which affects a pub in the borough. We receive a steady trickle of notifications about pubs being converted to other uses, most commonly houses of multiple occupation or nurseries. Often the pubs have been closed for some time and sold on by the pub company and there is only a slim prospect of their being brought back to life as pubs. Nevertheless, CAMRA will still respond to the consultation, particularly if it involves the loss of a community asset.
Not all the pubs are closed, however. You may have seen in the Bolton News and on the BBC recently that the Cotton Tree in Halliwell is under threat of closure and conversion to a nursery. The news coverage shows that the regulars are very concerned about the loss of what they feel is a valued community facility. CAMRA is willing to be involved in campaigns to save our local pubs but it needs regulars willing to take on the fight. If you find your local pub is in danger of being lost forever and you want to take action to stop it becoming another closure statistic, CAMRA can advise 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 and guidance can be accessed here.
Summer of Sport
The UEFA European Football Championships kick off in June and the government has allowed pubs to open longer should England get through to the later stages of the tournament. This should provide a welcome boost for the hospitality industry as fans head to the pub to cheer on their team.
Football isn’t everyone’s thing, of course, and there are plenty of pubs and clubs in the borough where you can enjoy a tipple watching, or playing, cricket, rugby, darts and even bridge so hopefully there’s something out there for everyone. If you’re enjoying a real ale in any of these venues please remember to update WhatPub and score the beers.
Cheers!
John Mitchell
Chair
Bolton CAMRA – Local Social – Saturday 22nd June 2024
The next social will be on 22 June. It will be local, and we can meet at One for the Road at 1.00pm. From there we can decide which other pubs to visit.
One for the Road, Stalls F14 to F15 Ashburner Street Lifestyle Hall, BL1 1TJ, 2 changing ales. Food available in the market.
For further information contact Gill social@bolton.camra.org.uk or call Gill on 0796758567
Bolton CAMRA Social – Salford – Saturday 8th June 2024
We will meet the platform at Bolton train Station at 12.15 to catch the 12.25 train to Salford Central. The train fare is £6.20 return but will be cheaper with a rail card. If you want more details or intend to join us later please contact Gill on 07967585670. Our first stop will be the New Oxford so if you want to meet us in Salford we should be there by 1.15pm.
New Oxford, 11 Bexley Square, M3 6DB, 10 changing beers, food available
Kings Arms, 11 Bloom St., M3 6DB, 4 changing beers
Old Fire Station, Albert Bentley Place, M5 4WT. No cask ale but a good selection of keg. Food is available. The pub is worth visiting to look around
Gas Lamp, 50a Bridge Street, M3 3BW, 4 changing beers with normally 2 from Pomona Island
If you know any pubs with very good beer we can always include in the social
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