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Beer & Pub News Round-Up
The Apple Tree (45 Mount Pleasant, WC1) has a new manageress, and there are plans afoot for this coming spring to transform the upstairs games room into a non-sport lounge area where you can meet up, relax in comfy chairs, and talk without having to compete with the footie. But fear not all you football fans, as the downstairs area will retain the big screen and televisions for sports coverage. The beer range should also remain the same, with Green King IPA, Abbot, and a guest beer.
Just up the road, the Kings Arms (11a Nortington Street, WC1), which was a recent branch pub of the season, has also seen a change of management. And again changes are being made to the upstairs rooms. While the smaller room remains available for meetings, the larger room is to be turned into a Thai restaurant; those of you with long memories will remember this is what it used to be quite a few years ago. The beer range currently stays with Green King IPA, and Adnams Broadside, with another beer to be added to the range; possibly Timothy Taylor Landlord.
The Skinners Arms in Judd Street is getting its guest beer policy into full swing. On the last visit at the beginning of November, it was selling two beers from the Blue Bell Brewery: Session (ABV:3.7%) and Honesty (ABV: 4.1%) alongside its range of usual Greene King beers. The Blue Bell Brewery is in Spalding in Lincolnshire and was set up by Keith Dixon, who was previously with Bateman's Brewery. Being so close to St Pancras, the Skinners Arms is clearly establishing itself as a good stop off for many real ale drinkers on their way home. Why not pop in and give it a try?
If you haven't already heard, after 20 years of being owned by Scottish & Newcastle, Theakston is returning to family hands. There are currently four beers under the Theakston's name, of which the most famous is Old Peculiar, a rich, full bodied complex beer with an alcohol content of 5.7%. It is hoped that this new found independence will ensure the future of these famous beers, enabling Theakston to concentrate on its real ales.
The year 2004 promises to be a great year for those who visit CAMRA North London's area. The branch is thirty years old and will be holding celebration socials throughout the year at pubs that sold real ale when the branch was formed, so look out for details. And the London Drinker Beer Festival is celebrating its twentieth birthday. The Festival, which started in 1985, has welcomed around 85,000 visitors from Greater London, elsewhere in the UK and even from the USA and Japan. And they have drunk almost 340,000 pints of real ale, besides the imported beer and cider!
The Festival is the only one in London where the food is made by CAMRA members, which not only keeps down the price, but also ensures that the quality matches the beer. From amazing cheese baps, O'Hagan real sausages and dishes of the day (including vegetarian), the Festival offers a range second to none.
The 2004 Festival starts on Wednesday 17th March until Friday 19th March and takes place at Camden Town Hall, Bidborough Street, opposite St Pancras Station.
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 23.
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