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Beer and pub news round up
The Blisland Inn in Blisland, Cornwall has been named by CAMRA as Britain's Best Pub in its annual “Pub of the Year” competition. The pub is situated in one of the most picturesque locations in Cornwall, high on the fringes of Bodmin Moor opposite the only village green in the county.
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Basingstoke Cricket Club has recently been named as the CAMRA North Hampshire Club of the Year. The Hungerford Club in, wait for it, Hungerford was declared runner up in CAMRA's 2001 Club of the Year competition. Both clubs heavily feature beer from London brewer Fullers of Chiswick.
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Another Fuller's outlet, some way from the capital, has been named CAMRA Birmingham's Pub of the Year 2000 – this is the Old Joint Stock. The pub has been converted from an old discarded financial centre and within three years of opening has been pulling in the accolades. Its only a short walk from New St station and is listed in the current GBG.
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London is blessed with lots of good pubs that are not on people's usual tracks. Such a pub is the Union (formally the Union Tavern) on the corner of Lloyd Baker Street and King's Cross Road in WC1, right by Mount Pleasant.
One bar (bistro style) is very much geared towards eating and although bangers and mash, fish and chips and burgers are predominant on the menu, the food is definitely not of the fast food quality. The burgers are chunky and full of meat and the chips are “proper”. The food can be washed down with a pint of two of real ale: Adnams Bitter, Greene King IPA and Young's Special, all on handpump.
There is also an extensive wine list on blackboards with plenty of New World wines.
The back bar is more traditional and a pint can be enjoyed in a more pub like atmosphere surrounded by etched glass mirrors. The cosy feel throughout is achieved by the use of dark wood, green ceilings with light coloured walls. Upstairs there is another area where live music occasionally takes place. On the last visit the jazz band, the Jazz Berries were playing (music@jazzberries.co.uk). But contact the pub: 020 7278 0111 for details.
Unlike some pubs in this area, the Union is open every day; Monday-Saturday 11am—11pm and on Sunday 12-10.30pm. A good option for Sunday lunch.
Christine Cryne
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Wolves woes continue as the calamities at Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, already reported in The Full Pint, continue. The Board's latest plans to retain independence involve the closure of the Mansfield Brewery – once again a take-over (Wolves bought Mansfield in 1999) could result in the closure of what had been a thriving company, unless plans by a local MP to lead a buy-out are successful.
The Camerons' brewery at Hartlepool will be sold to nearby Castle Eden, which, surprise, surprise will lead to the closure of the Castle Eden brewery. This transaction depends upon Castle Eden being able to sell their site for development to a building company. Once again, another local MP, one Peter Mandelson is involving himself in the matter, one of the problems about the deal going ahead being planning restrictions surrounding the site. There has been some criticism of the sale, as one of the executive directors of Wolves is a non-executive director of the building company. Indeed, the board has also come in for further criticism in providing what are seen as very generous share options to directors at a time when the company has been under strong criticism of its performance. While some of this criticism may be seen as short sighted, there seems little doubt that the purchase of Mansfield was one step too far by a company that had not really integrated the acquisition of the Pedigree brewer, Marston's.
Pubmaster are strongly rumoured to still be interested in acquisition. CAMRA officials will be meeting with W&D directors to ensure that all existing beer brands will be retained and the company will continue to focus on decent community pubs throughout the midlands and the north.
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Hodgson's to Hyderabad – a Passage to India. Award-winning beer writer Roger Protz, has researched the roots of one of Britain's major beer styles, India Pale Ale, in the first of CAMRA's new series, Homebrew Classics. IPA has powerful links with Burton-on-Trent, where the style was brewed by such 19th and 20th-century giants as Allsopp, Bass and Worthington. But Protz reveals that IPA was brewed first in the late 18th century by Hodgson's Brewery at Bow Bridge, Bromley-by-Bow, in East London. "Most historians have made only passing reference to Hodgsons," Protz says. "The official history of the British brewing history calls it 'an unremarkable brewery'. But by digging into the archives of Tower Hamlets council, I found that Hodgsons was a large and technically-advanced brewery.” Hodgsons was eventually eclipsed by the Burton brewers, who had access to better water supplies, but at long last the East London brewery has been given its rightful place in history.
*Homebrew Classics: India Pale Ale by Clive La Pensee and Roger Protz, MRA Books, £8.99.
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 10.
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