Beer Hunt Reconnaissance Trips in 2006, in
the United Kingdom (UK):
England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland

This White Beer Travels Web page provides details of miscellaneous recce trips in the UK, carried out in the year 2006, that are listed with equivalent trips undertaken elsewhere in the world, in the site's Recce page; the latter can be reached by clicking here. There is a companion page that provides details of UK recces that took place in 2004 and 2005, and one that covers those that took place in 2007. Most of the places covered will be incorporated into future White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, indeed some already have been. For most of the places featured, I quote their post code; plugging this into www.streetmap.co.uk provides a location map, as does the more versatile maps.google.co.uk.

The following UK recces are covered in this page or in companion pages; click on the titles to get more details of them:

Miscellaneous Short Recces;

2007 Trip Featuring Arkell's Brewery, in Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wiltshire;

2007 Trip Featuring Marston's Brewery, in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire;

2007 Trip Featuring Okells Brewery, in Douglas, in the Isle of Man;

2006 Hop Harvest Open Day at Charles Faram's Pridewood Farm, Ashperton, Herefordshire;

2006: Trip Featuring Moorhouse's Brewery, in Burnley, Lancashire;

2006: Trip featuring places in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire;

2006: Trip featuring Badger Brewery, in Blandford St Mary, Dorset;

2006: Trip to Liverpool, featuring Cains Brewery;

2005: Visits to two London Breweries - Fuller's & Meantime - & some Pubs;

2005: Trip Featuring Adnams Brewery, in Southwold, Suffolk;

2005: Trip Featuring Broadstone Brewery, in Retford, Nottinghamshire;

2005: Trip Featuring Three Breweries in Suffolk;

2005: London, Flanders Pub Crawl!;

2005: Trip based in Blackpool, Lancashire;

2005: Trip featuring Warminster Maltings, in Wiltshire;

2005: Visit to Liverpool;

2005: Trip featuring: Kelham Island Brewery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire; and Thornbridge Brewery, Ashford in the Water, Derbyshire;

2004: Visit to St. Austell Brewery, in Cornwall, and Tuckers Maltings, in Devon;

2004: Visit to Wychwood Brewery, in Witney, Oxfordshire; they brew Brakspear Beers;

2004: Visit to Edinburgh, Scotland, featuring the Caledonian Brewery & its Outlets;

Miscellaneous Individual Pub visits.

I denote whether any pubs mentioned appear in the Good Beer Guide  (GBG), issued by CAMRA, the CAMpaign for Real Ale (www,camra.org.uk), the UK's premier beer consumers organisation, e.g. GBG 2007 means that the place in question appears in the 2007 edition (published in September, 2006). Note that, should a place not appear in the GBG, it could, but does not necessarily mean that it does not serve Real Ale, or that there are problems with its Real Ale; the choice of pubs competing for entry is so great that a number of places serving Real Ale in tip-top condition have to be excluded for space reasons. Also, if, for example, a pub is in the 2006 guide, but not the 2007 one, it can by no means be assumed that its beer quality has deteriorated. Some of the pubs are on CAMRA's National Inventory of pubs that have interiors of outstanding historic interest, these being featured in the booklet The CAMRA National Inventory. Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest (NI), click here for more details. CAMRA has a special website, and it is special/essential, covering the National Inventory, "Campaign for Real Ale. Pub Heritage - Historic Pub Interiors", www.heritagepubs.org.uk.

www.beerintheevening.com is a very comprehensive directory of English pubs, which is well worth checking out.

Unless indicated otherwise, all beer prices quoted on this page are for a pint of draught/tap beer or a 33cl bottle. Where the strength of a beer is quoted, unless indicated otherwise, this is the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of a draught/tap beer. Note that many beers have a bottled counterpart, which may have a different ABV to the draught version. For example, Fuller's ESB (5.5%) has an ABV of 5.9% in bottle, Adnams Broadside (4.7%) is a 6.3% beer in bottle, etc, etc. Note that both these examples are filtered in bottle form, whereas, of course, their Real Ale (draught) versions are not. Hop Back Summer Lightning (5%, draught and in bottle), is an example of a beer that in bottled form is unfiltered, this being commonly referred to as "Real Ale in a Bottle".

Most pubs are typically open seven days a week from 11am (Noon on Sunday) to 11pm (10.30pm on Sunday). If a pub that is featured opens at significantly different times to these, the hours will be detailed. Note that licensing laws in England and Wales were subject to a major reform in November, 2005, with the much publicised introduction of twenty-four hour drinking. However, licences for this have only been granted to a small proportion of pubs, these not being typically of interest to the lover of Real Ale. However, many Real Ale outlets have extended their hours, to, for example, open at 10am in the morning and close an hour later at night, i.e. at Midnight.

At one time, I used to indicate whether places in England were no-smoking or had no-smoking areas. However, such information has now been removed, as all English pubs went no-smoking from July, 2007. I don't provide information on facilities for smoking plonkers, as I don't give a monkeys for them; they have not given a monkeys for non-smokers for many a year, so why should I? Justice is sweet, very sweet. If the person in charge of a business, such as a pub landlord, does not enforce the no smoking legislation, then he/she is liable to a fine of £2,500, so a very high level of enforcement is assured. As part of the Smokefree initiative, members of the public can report infringements using a free phone number: 0800 587 1667.

Should you need to use public transport to get about the UK, whilst Beer Hunting, or whatever, then the Traveline UK Public Transport Information website is absolutely invaluable: www.pti.org.uk. Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)'s excellent Journey Planner (www.tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner) is a must, if you want to work out how to get from A to B, in London. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering stress-free navigation, when using your own car or a coach/bus to get from one pub to the next, etc.

And a little, but important aside, should you be spending a few days in London and want to give yourself a great start to the day, with a good breakfast, then a superb option is the Villandry Foodstore Restaurant Bar, 170 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QB, tel 020 7631 3131, www.villandry.com. The bar is open for breakfast from 8am (9am on Saturday) to Noon, on Monday to Saturday; on these days, from Noon, it functions as a cocktail bar, serving excellent food. The food shop and restaurant are open seven days a week, see the website for the times. Whether you have Croissants (£1.95, November, 2005, as per the others quoted), Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey and/or Yogurt (£4.25/£5.50), Continental Breakfast (£4.25), Scottish Smoked Kipper (£6); or Full English Breakfast (£7.75), you will not be disappointed. The prices may seem high, and service charges are added to your bill, but the quality is far superior to even the swankiest of London hotels; the Croissants are the best I have ever tasted, and having lived in France for a number of years, I've had a few good ones. To reach the bar, one passes through an exquisite food shop, with some truly wonderful things on offer. Yes, don't miss this one, when in London.

Potential Places for White Beer Travels
Beer (& Whisky) Hunts in the UK

Listed in the headed sections of the page below, are places in the UK that have been reconnoitred, but which have not in all cases been subsequently converted into White Beer Travels group Beer Hunts.

2006: Hop Harvest Open Day at Charles Faram's Pridewood Hops, Ashperton, Herefordshire

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip, which was organised by the Guild Chairman, Tim Hampson, took place in September, 2006. The above two photos, which were taken by John White in the Hop Garden during the trip, both feature Golding Hops. The photo on the left has some splendid, female hop cones (hop flowers), the ones used by brewers. The weedy looking black things hanging down in the photo on the right are spent male hop flowers, which have done their duty in fertilising the countless female ones. There are only a small number of these males in a typical English hop garden: one in a thousand. Yes, hops are dioecious, which means that both male and female plants occur. Note that elsewhere in the world, male hops are not used, which is why English hops have seeds, whereas most others are seedless (if you don't know this already, then you pick it up, and much more, on the trip, and/or from the excellent handouts provided).

Pridewood Hops (Pridewood Farm) is on the A417, near Ashperton, Herefordshire (Post Code HR8 2SF, GPS: 52.062063^o N, 2.510813^o W). Charles Faram & Co, The Hop Store, Monksfield Lane, Newlands, Worcestershire, WR13 5BB (www.charlesfaram.co.uk, www.wellhopped.co.uk), are a renowned firm of Hop Merchants.

There was a very good turn out for the Hop Walk, most of the participants being brewers. And no wonder, as it really was a superb event, wonderfully hosted by Faram's and our hosts at Pridewood Hops (Martin, Julia, Robert, Carol, Geoffrey and Edith Powell-Tuck). After a marvellous lunch and the odd beer or two (see below), and a presentation on the 2006 hops, we were split into groups for a tour of the farm, that covered all stages from growing in the hop garden to getting the hops into hop pockets or bales (sacks). Our guide was John Farbon, who is featured in the above two photos, which were taken by John White.

clicking here.The above two photos were taken at the event by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular, Jez (rauchbier) Blake, who was representing Highwood Brewery (www.tom-wood.com), in Lincolnshire, with Tom Wood, the brewery's founder. In the photo on the left, I am with Sabine Weyermann, who with her husband, Thomas Kraus-Weyermann, runs the world-renowned maltings, Weyermann Malz (Malt) (www.weyermannmalt.com (English pages), www.weyermann.de (German pages, with links to pages in many other languages), White Beer Travels Web page), who are based in the wonderful Baroque city of Bamberg, in Germany. In the one on the right, I am with three brewers from Italy: Giovanni Campari (Birrificio del Ducato, Parma); and Maurizio Folli & Agostino Arioli (who are both with Birrificio Italiano (www.birrificio.it), in Lurago Marinone. For a report on my visit to the world-class Birrificio Italiano, with the wonderful Lorenzo (Kuaska) Dabove (www.kuaska.be (English-language version), www.kuaska.it (Italian version)), the premier ambassador for the best of Italian Beers and other such Speciality Beers from around the world, particularly Belgium, click here.

As you can see from the photo featuring the Italian brewers, beer was available in the marquee where proceedings commenced. There was a selection from local brewers and some special, unique ones, single hop variety ones, produced by Sean Franklin's Rooster's Brewery, in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire (www.roosters.co.uk). The local beers on offer were: Hereford Organic Bitter (hopped with Organic Spalt Select from Germany), from the Spinning Dog Brewery, in Hereford (www.spinningdogbrewery.co.uk); Wye Valley Bitter (hopped with Challenger and Golding) from the Wye Valley Brewery, in Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire (www.wyevalleybrewery.co.uk); King's Shilling Bitter (hopped with Golding and Northdown) from the Cannon Royall Brewery, in Ombersley, Worcestershire (www.cannonroyall.co.uk, not working in September, 2006); and Moel Bryn Bitter (hopped with Polish Marynka and English Cascade) from the Malvern Hills Brewery, in Malvern, Worcestershire (www.malvernhillsbrewery.co.uk). The use The floral US variety, Cascade, is becoming more popular in England, but is quite hard to grow in England, so it was most interesting to see a beer hopped with Cascade hops that had actually grown in England. The beers from the Rooster's Brewery had no names, but were all 4.3% and brewed with the prestigious Maris Otter malt; the target bitterness level was 25-30 EBU. The hop (Humulus Lupulus) varieties used in their production were Pilgrim, Sovereign (TA 200), Golding, Willamette from the USA, Celeia (Styrian Goldings C) from Slovenia, and Centennial from the USA.

Close by is the historic market town of Ledbury, which is a really attractive place that is well worth visiting. It has some excellent pubs, including: The Talbot Hotel, 14 New Street, HR8 2DT, (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 200); and The Prince of Wales, Church Lane, HR8 1DL, GPS: 52.037133^o N, 2.421890^o W (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 200). The Prince of Wales also has an entrance on Church Street, but is best approached from Church Lane, which is an outstandingly attractive, narrow cobbled alley, with much of interest along it.

2006: A Visit to Moorhouse's Brewery,
in Burnley, Lancashire

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip to the renowned Moorhouse's brewery (www.moorhouses.co.uk), Moorhouse Street (at T-junction with Hartley Street, which is off Accrington Road (A679)), Burnley, BB11 5EN, GPS: 53.786448^o N, 2.268958^o W (tel 01282 422864), took place in June, 2006. The above photos were taken by John White, in June, 2006. The one on the left, featuring the exterior of the brewery, was taken outside its tap opposite, the General Scarlett, 243 Accrington Road, Burnley, BB11 5ET, GPS: 53.786490^o N, 2.269383^o W.

The photo, above right, which was taken inside the General Scarlett, features the breweries five core brands, all of which are truly wonderful Real Ales: Black Cat (3.4%); Premier Bitter (3.7%); Pride of Pendle (4.1%); Blond Witch (4.5%) ("As light coloured as a Lager but without the bubbles", according to a brewery press release); and the legendary Pendle Witches Brew (5.1%); note the Witch on the outside of the brewery, and the legend "Moorhouse's Brewers of Real Ale". All of these beers were sampled on the visit to Moorhouse's (the visit included a number of its outlets), along with brews such as: FIFA Pitch, an unusual, clear Wheat Beer, see below, brewed for the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup, taking place in Germany at the time of the visit (FIFA is Fédération Internationale de Football Association); and Witchfinder General, which is a blend of Pendle Witches Brew and Premium Bitter. It is unusual for a brewery to have five core brands; the bar towel on the servery in the photo, above right, bears the legend "Famous Five. Perfection in a Glass".

The Guild attendees were: Melissa Cole, freelance journalist and editor of FHO (Freehouse Owner) (www.freehouseowner.com); the Guild's trip organiser, Tim Hampson, author of Room at the Inn (CAMRA Books, 2003, ISBN 1852491841), and a contributor to numerous publications, including CAMRA's What's Brewing, The Guardian, The Independent and American Brewer; Adrian Tierney-Jones (www.beeralewhatever.com) (freelance journalist and writer, his books include The Big Book of Beer (2005, CAMRA Books, ISBN 1-85249-212-0)); Iain Loe, CAMRA HQ's Research & Information Manager and representative at EBCU (European Beer Consumers' Union) (www.ebcu.org) meetings, at which he acts as Secretary; John Gray, journalist and photographer and the editor of PubSpeak Today (www.pubspeaktoday.co.uk); Chris Freer, freelance journalist and senior partner in freerbutler graphic design services, www.freerbutler-gds.co.uk, which provides publicity material for brewing companies and pubs; and yours truly, John White. Another guild member present was Steve Hobman, of Rhino Public Relations (www.rhinopr.co.uk), in his PR role for Moorhouse's. Also involved in the visit was David Saville from BBC Radio Lancashire.

Joining us from Moorhouse's at various parts of the visit were: David Grant, the MD; Bill Parkinson, the the brewery's saviour and Chairman (declared to be the "Chief Beertaster" on his business card); Mike Hiscock, the Sales Manager, and Dave Foley, who, most patiently, drove us to each venue.

We started off with a presentation in the brewery, followed by a tour of the brew house, etc. Apart from two bottled beers, which are unpasteurised, but filtered (Black Cat and Pendle Witches Brew), Moorhouse's only produces Real Ales, i.e. no Smooth Flow or Lager. The bottled beers, which are bottled by Holden's (www.holdensbrewery.co.uk), in Woodsetton, Dudley, West Midlands, are mainly on sale in the USA. We learnt of the plans for an upgrade to the brewery, with an increase in throughput, and the building of an impressive visitor centre. The Hops used, which are supplied by Charles Faram Ltd (www.wellhopped.co.uk), are mainly Fuggles with some Willamette added late, for aroma, from the USA. Malt comes from Bairds Malt (www.bairds-malt.co.uk) and Thomas Fawcett & Sons (www.fawcett-maltsters.co.uk). Yeast is sourced from Thwaites (www.thwaites.co.uk), in nearby Blackburn. There are no seasonal brews, but there are a number of blends, such as Witch's Cauldron, and Witchfinder General, which we sampled on the visit, see below. The brewery makes no secret of the fact that such beers are blends.

Above are two photos of pubs owned by Moorhouse's Brewery, which were taken by John White, in June, 2006: The Dusty Miller, 87 Crostons Road (junction of B6213/B6214) Bury, BL8 1AL, GPS: 53.596523^o N, 2.309260^o W (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 321); and the Craven Heifer, 264 Burnley Road (A482), Rawtenstall, BB4 8LA, GPS: 53.711953^o N, 2.290263^o W (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 249). As can be seen from the England flag covering much of The Dusty Miller, the visit was undertaken at the time of the football world cup; the Real Ales sampled in the place were in marvellous condition; the Craven Heifer was undergoing a renovation, but, inside we had a Moorhouse's equivalent of a Black Velvet: a blend of bottled Black Cat and Champagne, which turned out to be a very nice drink indeed!

As already stated, in addition to a brewery visit and presentations, there were visits to a number of pubs owned by Moorhouse's, or which feature their beers, i.e. in addition to the brewery tap ,and the ones already mentioned, we visited: The Rising Sun, 330 Gisburn Road (A682), Blacko, BB9 6LS, GPS: 53.867983^o N, 2.214417^o W (GBG 2005, GBG 2006 page 239); and The Robin Hood Inn, 280 Holcombe Road (B6253), Helmshore, BB4 4NP, GPS: 53.690395^o N, 2.338670^o W (GBG 2007 page 243).

Needless to say, Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew is available in this outstanding pub on handpump. Also available on handpump, on the June, 2006, was the brewery's world cup beer, FIFA Pitch (4.2%), which is mentioned above, where it is described as an unusual Wheat Beer. In a mash for beers designated as Wheat Beers, there is typically only 30% to 40% Wheat, with the rest being Malt (Malted Barley, Barley Malt), since Unmalted Wheat has none and Malted Wheat has less of the enzymes that occur naturally in Malted Barley which are needed to convert the starch in the grains to sugar, the precursor to the alcohol produced in the fermentation phase of the brewing process. However, the grist for FIFA Pitch was as follows: 75% Malted Wheat, 5% Torrified Wheat, and 20% Maris Otter Barley Malt. A little Invert Sugar was also used in the FIFA Pitch mash. With less than 20% Malted Barley in the mash, conversion of the grain's starch to sugar was facilitated by the addition of an industrial enzyme to the mash tun: Trizyme, a brand name for a cocktail of three enzymes, including the principal ones required to convert Starch to Sugar: alpha-Amylase and beta-Amylase (β-Amylase). As with other Moorhouse's beers, the hops used were Fuggles and Willamette. I found the beer to be top class; it reminded me of one of France's very best beers, a clear Wheat Beer called L'Angelus, which is brewed by the Brasserie d'Annoeullin; click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering it. Industrial enzymes are generally used for poor quality, filtered beers; this is the first example I have come across of them being used to produce a top quality, very innovative Real Ale. Click here to go to a White Beer Travels Web page which covers these enzymes in more detail.

Food in the Rising Sun includes the rare, local delicacy, "Stew an' Hard". Present in the Rising Sun during our visit was John Ingham, the Chairman of East Lancs CAMRA (www.eastlancscamra.org.uk), this CAMRA branch covering the area in which the pub finds itself; John was delivering copies of the branch's excellent newsletter, Witch Ale.

On the front of Karen's dress, in the above photo, what appears to be a star, is one of Bill's elastic bands, this being part of his props for the impromptu magic tricks that he performed in just about every pub we visited. I just could not fathom out how he managed to separate two seemingly locked-together bands. Of course, Bill performed even greater magic, when he purchased the brewery, when it was in danger of being closed, in 1985. He saved the brewery for the Nation and beyond, and has recruited the staff that have transformed it into the wonderful brewery that it is today.

We had lunch in the brewery and an excellent evening meal in an Indian Restaurant: Mala 18-20 Holcolme Village (B6214), Ramsbottom, BL8 4LZ (it is opposite a pub called The Shoulder of Mutton).

2006: A Family Holiday with Visits to Beery Places in the Counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire

During a three-generation family holiday, based in Southwold, in Suffolk, in May/June, 2006, some beery places were visited; Southwold is home to the renowned Adnams Brewery (www.adnams.co.uk (all activities); www.beerfromthecoast.co.uk (the brewery, its beers and its outlets)). The above two photos were taken during the holiday, in June, 2006. The one on the left, which was taken by my wife, Joyce, in The Anchor, in Walberswick, across the River Blyth from Southwold, features The Anchor's landlord, Mark Dorber, and myself, with my granddaughter, Emma Skinner. Mark is the world's most famous cellarman, who made his name in The White Horse, Parson's Green, in London (www.whitehorsesw6.com); he has a fifteen year tied lease on The Anchor (Main Street, Walberswick, IP18 6UA, GPS: 52.312894^o N, 1.662317^o E, www.anchoratwalberswick.com). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving further details on The Anchor.

In the photo, above right, which was taken by yours truly, John White, my niece, Sarah White, and my grandson, Jack Skinner, are standing in front of the 1993 Flood Level marker on the wall of The Harbour Inn, in Southwold (Blackshore (near the end of Blackshore Road, the extension of York Road that leads to the river Blyth ), IP18 5TA, tel 01502 722381, GPS: 52.321174^o N, 1.662194^o E).

Some of the details of the beer-orientated visits made during this holiday can be found on the White Beer Travels Web pages covering the Adnams Brewery, in Southwold and Suffolk, with further information being provided in this section. Of course, there were many family activities, such as Crabbing at Walberswick, this being the title of an excellent children's book, by William Buncombe, that is available in Walberswick's most pleasant of shops; they also have bait and lines for catching the crabs (the book tells you how to do this without hurting them, and how to look after them when caught, and how to return them to the water)!

Places visited that are not covered, or covered only briefly, in the two White Beer Travels Web pages quoted above include: The Fat Cat in Norwich (49 West End Street (on the corner of Nelson Street, which is off Dereham Road (A1074))), NR2 4NA, GPS: 52.635177^o N, 1.275460^o E, www.fatcatpub.co.uk) (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 358); The Fat Cat Brewery and its adjoining pub, The Cidershed (The Shed) (98-100 Lawson Road (forms an apex corner with Sprowston Road (A1151)), NR3 4LF, GPS: 52.643295^o N, 1.300908^o E, www.theshednorwich.co.uk) (GBG 2007 page 358); THE Lord Nelson, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk (Walsingham Road, PE31 8HL, GPS: 52.938705^o N, 0.754865^o E, www.nelsonslocal.co.uk) (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 351); the Lydney House Hotel, Swaffham, in Norfolk (Norwich Road (on the corner of North Pickenham Road), GPS: 52.646975^o N, 0.694143^o E, www.lydney-house.demon.co.uk) (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 362); Ye Olde Maydens Heade, King's Lynn, Norfolk (7 Tuesday Market Place (on the corner of Market Lane, PE30 1JL); The Stags Head, Burwell, near Louth, Lincolnshire (Main Road (A16), LN11 8PR, GPS: 53.295768^o N, 0.031725^o E); and Beers of Europe, Garage Lane (off A10), Setchey, King's Lynn, PE33 0BE, GPS: 52.699038^o N, 0.416540^o E, www.beersofeurope.co.uk.

Colin and Marjie Keatley's The Fat Cat, in Norwich (contact details above), is named in homage to David Wickett's marvellous pub of the same name, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The above photos of The Fat Cat, in Norwich, were taken by John White, in May, 2006. The Fat Cat is quite simply, one of the UK's very best pubs, that must be visited, again and again. It can be argued that this is easy to say, in the safe knowledge that it is the only pub ever to be twice awarded the title of "CAMRA National Pub of the Year". However, you don't need to know this, as, on entering, it is immediately apparent that it is very, very special, with marvellous decor, no jukebox, pool darts, or electronic machines, no TV (there is one for special sports events in a separate room), and over the servery, blackboards declaring a dazzling choice of UK Real Ales on draught and gravity (well over twenty different ones at any time, including wonderful ones from its own brewery in the city, see below), and a selection of Belgian and other Foreign Beers on draught and in bottles, along with Real Norfolk Ciders; there is also a good selection of quality wines, including fruit ones. The Tap Room housing the casks of Real Ale can be seen behind the Servery.

Yes, The Fat Cat is a truly world-class, life-enhancing real gem that must be put on every Real Ale fan's short term agenda; it is outside the city's ring road, but only ten minutes or so West of the centre; by bus, get a number 19, 20, 21, 22 First "Over Ground" bus (www.firstgroup.com) from the city centre, getting off at the Dereham Road "Earl of Leicester" stop.

The Fat Cat's interior looks authentically old, with the addition of a superb collection of brewery plaques and other breweriana. In fact, when Colin and Marjie purchased, what was then The New Inn, in 1991, they closed it for six months, during which time they completely gutted the place and produced the brilliant, most enjoyable, life-enhancing place that you see today. When many breweries, big and small, renovate pubs, why do they so often ruin them? They should come to this place and bow their heads in shame, and vow to give up their old ways and copy the spirit of this wonderful achievement.

Example Real Ales on my May, 2006 visit included: Fat Cat Bitter at £2; Fat Cat Honey Cat at £2.10; Elgood's Golden Newt at £2.30; Kelham Island Pale Rider (brewed alongside the Sheffield Fat Cat) at £2.40; and Harviestown Bitter and Twisted at £2.10. Needless to say, all the beers tried on this visit were in immaculate condition. Draught Belgian Beers included Liefmans Kriek and Frambozen (Framboise) at £2/2.10 (half pint). Food is limited to Rolls, but they are very wholesome and good value, my Cheese and Pickle one being sixty pence.

The above photos of The Shed, in Norwich (contact details above), were taken by John White, in May, 2006. The Shed, which is adjacent to The Fat Cat Brewery, is a sister pub to The Fat Cat, a world-class place, which is covered above. In fact, it goes without saying, that The Shed is also world-class, and, must be visited. How could it be otherwise, with Colin and Marjie Keatley involved. As can be seen from the photo, above right, just like The Fat Cat, there are blackboards above the servery detailing what is on offer in the way of handpulled and gravity-fed Real Ale, Foreign Beers, Real Ciders, Fruit Wines, etc. It also has a nice selection of breweriana, and all the other wonderful attributes of The Fat Cat, plus a brewery that can be visited by arrangement. In the foyer of the rear entrance, there are second-hand books for perusal and purchase.

Like The Fat Cat pub, The Shed is outside the Norwich ring road, about fifteen minutes walk from the city centre; they are about two miles apart, The Shed being North of the city centre, whereas, The Fat Cat is to the West of it. Outside The Shed is a bus stop named "Lawson Road", which is served by number 21 and 22 First "Over Ground" buses (www.firstgroup.com) from the city centre. As is stated above, these buses also go close to The Fat Cat, these buses going from one to the other via the city centre.

As per The Fat Cat, it is worth making a special journey to visit The Shed.

In the bar of the Lydney House Hotel, in Swaffham (contact details above), there are Real Ales from Woodforde's (www.woodfordes.co.uk), which are served in superb condition. The above photos featuring the hotel and hand pumps for Woodforde's Wherry and Nelson' Revenge, were taken by John White, in June, 2006.

Ye Olde Maydens Heade, in King's Lynn (contact details above) has a superb façade, which includes badging from a defunct Norwich Brewery: Bullards: see the above photos, which were taken by John White in June, 2006. On my June, 2006 visit, the three handpumped beers were all from Adnams (Bitter, Explorer (£2.20) and Broadside). There was an Enterprise Inns notice in the window stating that the Landlord (i.e. Enterprise Inns) had retaken possession of the place, suggesting that it was being run by a caretaker at this time. The Tuesday Market Place is a magnificent, very large square. Next to Ye Olde Maydens Heade, on the other corner of Market Lane (in reality, a narrow alley), is the also-impressive looking Duke's Head Hotel, Tuesday Market Place, PE30 1JS.

As Burnham Thorpe is the birthplace of Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, England's most famous sailor, The Lord Nelson pub in this village is truly the definitive, THE Lord Nelson, of the many, many pubs in England and beyond with this name; THE Lord Nelson's contact details can be found above. The above photos of THE Lord Nelson, were taken by John White, in June, 2006. It is a very welcoming place, with very friendly, attentive staff. The painting next to my wife, Joyce, in the one on the right, was painted by a local, at the time that this dining room was the landlord's sitting room. All the draught Real Ales are delivered by gravity, and the two that I sampled were magnificent: Woodforde's Nelson's Revenge (£2.70); and Nelson's Blood Bitter (5.1%) (£2.80), from another marvellous Norfolk brewer, Fox (www.foxbrewery.co.uk). Other Real Ales available include: Greene King Abbot (£2.65) and IPA (£2.45); and Woodforde's Wherry (£2.45). Food turned out to be excellent; the ever-changing choices are detailed on blackboards.

Burwell is on the direct route back to my home in Grimsby, from East Anglia, so The Stags Head is a regular stop should we not want to bother to prepare a meal when we get home, as we know that it can be relied upon food-wise (and beer-wise).

The above photos outside and in "Beers of Europe", near King's Lynn (contact details above), were taken by John White, in June, 2006. It has the biggest selection of Specialty Beer in the UK. It is particularly strong on beers from the UK, Belgium, Germany and France. Despite its name, beers from outside Europe are also on sale, and related items, such as glasses can be purchased, as can be seen from the photo, above right, which features Oude Geuze from 3 Fonteinen (www.3fonteinen.be), in Beersel, in Belgium, and the glasses for this truly world-class beer, and also the first-rate Oude Kriek from Oud Beersel (www.oudbeersel.com). One can buy at the premises or order from their website (www.beersofeurope.co.uk), or by post, phone, fax or e-mail. It is very much a family affair, the contact names on the website all having the surname Clark: Derek, Allan, Daniel and Jason. Garage Lane is signed to the right off the A10, going South from King's Lynn. It is then soon reached, on the right hand side of Garage Lane. It is open on Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and on Sundays and on National Holidays, from 10am to 4pm.

Most of the beers available are listed and priced on the place's website, and one can pick up a price list on a visit, and it can no doubt be posted to you. I say "most", since, for example, the already mentioned Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze that was on the shelves on my June, 2006 visit (£3.25/6.99 (37.5/75cl)) is not mentioned in the printed list or on the website. Other example prices (June, 2006) include: Oud Beersel Oude Kriek at £3.99 (37.5cl); Abbaye des Rocs at £4.35 (75cl); Gouden Carolus Christmas at £4.49 (75cl); St. Bernard Grottenbier at £3.99 (75cl); Brasserie Dupont's Cervesia at £3.99 (75cl); Duchesse de Bourgogne at £1.25 (25cl); La Binchoise Brune at £1.65; Rader Ambrée at £1.95; Rochefort 10^o at £2.49; Kwelchouffe at £2.09; De Dolle Brouwers Arabier and Oerbier at £1.79/1.75; De Ranke XX Bitter at £1.75; and Moinette Biologique at £1.39 (25cl).

2006: A Visit to Badger Brewery (Hall & Woodhouse Ltd),
in Blandford St Mary, Dorset

The above photo of the exterior of the Hall & Woodhouse/Badger Brewery was taken by John White, in April,  2006, this British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip taking place at this time.

Badger (The Brewery, Bournemouth Road, Blandford St Mary, near Blandford Forum, DT11 9LS, GPS: 50.851617^o N, 2.163573^o W, tel 01258 452141, www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk) brew a number of great Real Ales (Cask Beers), such as: Badger First Gold (4.2%) (www.badgerfirstgold.co.uk), which is hopped with a single hop variety, First Gold; Tanglefoot (4.9%), which is dry-hopped with Goldings hops; Fursty Ferret (4.4%), a Seasonal Beer (Summer); and Festive Feazant (4.5%), their Winter Beer. Note that First Gold, which was introduced in August, 2005, replaces Badger Best Bitter. After taking over King & Barnes, in 2000, they now also produce Cask King & Barnes Sussex (3.5%). This is also available in bottle-conditioned form, i.e. there is yeast in the bottle for a secondary fermentation - Real Ale in a Bottle. Other King & Barnes beers are available in this form: Mild (3.5%); Festive (5.3%) and Old Ale (4.5%). Hall & Woodhouse also have the sole UK licence to brew beers from the Hofbräuhaus (HB) (www.hofbraeuhaus.de), in München (Munich), and weaker variants of them. The Lagers in Hall & Woodhouse pubs have the HB crown logo on the delivery fonts.

A number of the Hall & Woodhouse beers appear in bottled form. An interesting example is an Organic Beer called Stinger (4.5%), which is produced using Nettles grown in celebrity chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage Estate (www.rivercottage.net), in Dorset. Most of these beers are to be found in dark bottles to protect them from light; when a beer gets "light struck", skunky, "wet dog" aromas and taste can be produced when light reacts with hop components. However, the brewery's England 's Glory (4.6%) comes in the transparent bottles thought to be favoured by the young drinker; this beer was originally targeted for people watching the 2006 Football World Cup on pub TVs.

Our hosts on the trip were: Mark Woodhouse, the Vice-Chairman; Dr Tim Morris, the Head Brewer; Toby Heasman, the Brewery Manager; Rick Payne, the Brands Marketing Manager; and Edward Meadows and Jenna White, of Chambers Cox PR (www.ccpr.co.uk), who are PR consultants to the brewery.

Charles Hall founded a brewery in Ansty, in 1777. In 1847, his son, Robert Hall, went into partnership with George Woodhouse, this being a wedding present, when George married into the family. In 1899, Hall & Woodhouse had a new brewery built, on the bank of the River Stour, in the nearby village of Blandford St Mary. Mark Woodhouse is the fifth generation of his family to be involved in the brewery; today, there are no Halls associated with the brewery.

The Guild attendees were: Melissa Cole, freelance journalist and editor of FHO (Freehouse Owner) (www.freehouseowner.com); the Guild's trip organiser, Tim Hampson, author of Room at the Inn (CAMRA Books, 2003, ISBN 1852491841), and a contributor to numerous publications, including CAMRA's What's Brewing, The Guardian, The Independent and American Brewer; Michael Hardman, at the time of the visit the Public Relations Consultant for the London Brewery, Young's (www.youngs.co.uk) (closed in 2006, following the merger with Charles Wells (www.charleswells.co.uk), of Bedford), who, most famously, in 1971, co-founded CAMRA, and was its first Chairman (in May, 2007 Michael took charge of PR for SIBA (www.siba.co.uk), the Society of Independent Brewers); Brian Glover, one of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year, author of a number of books and a reporter on the Western Mail (westernmail.newsstand.com); Dave Wickett, the owner of the Kelham Island Brewery (www.kelhambrewery.co.uk), and its wonderful tap, The Fat Cat (www.thefatcat.co.uk) (White Beer Travels Web page), in Sheffield, South Yorkshire; James McCrorie, a renowned Home Brewer and founder of the Craft Brewing Association, www.craftbrewing.org.uk; Bruce Stevens, the Editor of Brewing and Distilling International magazine (www.bdinews.com); Michel Hooper-Immins, freelance writer; and, yours truly, John White.

The above two photos were taken in the brewery's splendid Visitor Centre, by John White, in April, 2006. In the one on the left, Mark Woodhouse is pulling a pint of Badger First Gold. The photo on the right is of a "Chandelier" made from Hall & Woodhouse bottles. The Visitor Centre is installed in the brewery's former Maltings, some items from this remaining, both loose and fixed, such as its cast iron pillars.

Meetings were held in the Visitor Centre, where we also had lunch. One ends up in the Visitor Centre after the brewery tours that are available to the general public; naturally, it has an extensive selection of the brewery's beers and very good food; one can just pop in for a drink and/or a meal, without doing a tour, but do yourself a favour and go on one, as the brewery is well worth visiting.

Naturally, a brewery tour was part of the Guild's visit; the above photos were taken by John White during it. The vessel in the photo on the left is the Copper No 1, which is what it says on the plaque attached to it, see the close up photo of the plaque on the right. This one is typical of a number of such plaques that one encounters on the tour, in that it gives some historical facts about the vessel or whatever, this one, for example, denoting that the vessel was purchased second-hand from the Lancashire Clubs Brewery, in 1964. Hall & Woodhouse are very proud of their history and like to educate one about related events, so this plaque also tells one that 1964 was the year that the BBC 2 (a UK TV channel) first went on air. Other vessels seen on the tour include a fermenter relocated from the original Ansty Brewery, its plaque telling you that it dates from circa 1850, the time of the Crimean War. Hall & Woodhouse are also very proud of the provenance of their beers, promoting them with slogans such as "Dorset Ales with Real Character". The aim is to make the brewery's beers, the county of Dorset's "National Drink", c.f. the "Dorset Knob" , the county's National Dish, which is a hard biscuit.

Note that some of the old vessels that were seen on our brewery tour were still in operation, but they are to be replaced by a modern brew house on another part of the site, but they will remain as a "Brewery Museum" feature of the brewery tour; part of the splendid building, see the photo above, that houses these old vessels will be converted to flats.

Some marvellous Hall & Woodhouse pubs were visited: the True Lovers Knot, Wimborne Road, Tarrant Keyneston, Blandford, DT11 9LG, GPS: 50.841225^o N, 2.097347^o W, tel 01258 452209, www.trueloversknot.co.uk (see John White's April, 2006 of its sign, above left) (on the April, 2006 visit, there were four beers on handpump, three at £2.50, with Tanglefoot at £2.80); The White Horse, Shaston Road, Stourpaine, Blandford Forum, DT11 8TA, GPS: 50.884703^o N, 2.197820^o W, tel 01258 453535 (this has accommodation) (on the April, 2006 visit, handpumped beers available included King & Barnes Sussex (£2.40), First Gold (£2.45) and Fursty Ferret (£2.55)); and the Olive Branch, 6 East Borough, Wimborne, BH21 1BF, GPS: 50.800867^o N, 1.987447^o W, tel 01202 884686 (see John White's April, 2006 of its exterior, above right). We had an excellent evening meal in The Olive Branch, which the brewery describes as "taking food forward". We stayed overnight very close to the brewery, in their wonderful Georgian, 18th Century, former coaching inn, The Crown Hotel, 8 West Street, Blandford Forum, DT11 7AJ, GPS: 50.855653^o N, 2.166625^o W, tel 01258 456626. The Crown's bar has a very good selection of the brewery's handpumped and bottled beers. That it has such beers of interest to the discerning drinker cannot, ironically, be taken for granted in quality hotels. so seeing these on sale was a most pleasant surprise. The Crown can be booked from the Best Western website, www.bestwestern.co.uk, or from the innforanight.co.uk website, www.innforanight.co.uk.

2006: Trip featuring Cains Brewery
in Liverpool, Merseyside

This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip took place in March, 2006.

Click on the heading of this section for the White Beer Travels Web page covering aspects of the trip.

The Guild attendees were: Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake, of Highwood Brewery (www.tom-wood.com), in Melton Highwood, in Lincolnshire; Melissa Cole, freelance journalist and editor of FHO (Freehouse Owner) (www.freehouseowner.com); Mike Dennis, Checkout Magazine (www.checkoutmagazine.co.uk); Jeff Evans, one of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year, the former editor of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide and author of a number of books, including the CAMRA Good Bottled Beer Guide; the Guild's trip organiser, Tim Hampson, author of Room at the Inn (CAMRA Books, 2003, ISBN 1852491841), and a contributor to numerous publications, including CAMRA's What's Brewing, The Guardian, The Independent and American Brewer; Steve Hobman, PR consultant (including Moorhouse's Brewery (www.moorhouses.co.uk)) and freelance writer; Robert Humphreys, the Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group; Brian Glover, another of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year, author of a number of books and a reporter on the Western Mail (westernmail.newsstand.com); Adrian Tierney-Jones,