The Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) have selected The Fat Cat pub (West End Street, Norwich) as their 2012 Pub of the Year. It is the third time that landlord Colin Keatley has been awarded the Norwich & Norfolk branch’s title.
The Fat Cat now goes into a head-to-head with the West Norfolk branch’s winner, The Union Jack at Roydon, with the victor progressing to the Regional level of the competition.
The Norwich & Norfolk Pub of the Year is chosen from the winners of the Branch’s Rural and City Pubs of the Year.
The 2012 Rural Pub of the Year was won by The Green Dragon in Wymondham, beating stiff competition from the Kings Arms, Reepham and the Windham Arms, Sheringham.
And the City Pub of the Year was won by The Fat Cat, from the other two Norwich pubs shortlisted – The King’s Head, Magdalen Street and The Duke of Wellington, Waterloo Road.
Also for the first time the Branch have awarded a Cider Pub of the Year due to the growing popularity of real ciders and perries and that many pubs are stocking a growing and permanent range.
The winner was The White Lion, Oak Street, Norwich which pipped the other shortlisted pubs - The Cottage on Silver Road, Norwich and The Oliver Twist in Great Yarmouth.
The winners will be presented with their awards at the respective pubs as below:
Tuesday April 24th, at 8pm
Presentation of Branch Pub of the Year and City Pub of the Year at the Fat Cat, West End St, Norwich
Tuesday June 12th, at 9pm
Presentation of Rural Pub of the Year at the Green Dragon, Church St, Wymondham (Bus 13B leaves Norwich Bus Stn at 19:10, and the 14B leaves Wymondham Cross at 22:37, arr Norwich 23:07)
TBC
Cider Pub of the Year at The White Lion, Oak Street, Norwich
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
2012 Bottled Beer of Norfolk Competition
The Norwich and Norfolk branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) are running a Bottled Beer of Norfolk competition again this year after the successful launch in 2011. The first competition was won by Why Not Brewery’s Chocolate Nutter.
In 2011, the Norfolk Taste Panel decided to extend the scope of its tasting to include Real Ale In A Bottle. This was partly to follow national CAMRA policy, partly to ensure entries in the Champion Beer of Britain category, partly to foster better relations with local brewers, but mainly to meet together and enjoy some quality local ales.
Alan Edwards, the Bottled Beer of Norfolk competition organiser, said: “The competition is a great way for breweries to showcase their beers and get them to a wider audience. A big thank you to all the breweries that entered the first competition which made it such a success, proving again the great variety of Norfolk Real Ale that is available, hence we are launching the 2012 competition”.
The competition is open to any commercial brewery in Norfolk producing Real Ale in a Bottle with the closing date the 31st March.
With around thirty breweries in the county, and seven categories, each Norfolk brewery is limited to nominating four beers. This might be reviewed in the light of actual entries but the panel will potentially have 120 beers to taste.
A monumental challenge but one the panel is uniquely equipped for; the tasting panel is used to some forthright and spirited discussions regarding real ale! ‘Blind’ tastings will take place, one category at a time, between April and September.
All breweries should have received an entry form already, however if any brewery hasn’t so far, please contact Alan Edwards via e-mail arted1@ntlworld.com.
In 2011, the Norfolk Taste Panel decided to extend the scope of its tasting to include Real Ale In A Bottle. This was partly to follow national CAMRA policy, partly to ensure entries in the Champion Beer of Britain category, partly to foster better relations with local brewers, but mainly to meet together and enjoy some quality local ales.
Alan Edwards, the Bottled Beer of Norfolk competition organiser, said: “The competition is a great way for breweries to showcase their beers and get them to a wider audience. A big thank you to all the breweries that entered the first competition which made it such a success, proving again the great variety of Norfolk Real Ale that is available, hence we are launching the 2012 competition”.
The competition is open to any commercial brewery in Norfolk producing Real Ale in a Bottle with the closing date the 31st March.
With around thirty breweries in the county, and seven categories, each Norfolk brewery is limited to nominating four beers. This might be reviewed in the light of actual entries but the panel will potentially have 120 beers to taste.
A monumental challenge but one the panel is uniquely equipped for; the tasting panel is used to some forthright and spirited discussions regarding real ale! ‘Blind’ tastings will take place, one category at a time, between April and September.
All breweries should have received an entry form already, however if any brewery hasn’t so far, please contact Alan Edwards via e-mail arted1@ntlworld.com.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Winter LocAle Trail 2012 is launched
January 2nd saw the official launch of our Winter LocAle Trail 2012 at the Wig & Pen, in Norwich – one of the 31 pubs taking part in the trail.
The aim of the trail is twofold: firstly to encourage beer drinkers to visit pubs that they would not normally visit during the winter month and secondly to promote CAMRA's LocAle Scheme and locally brewed real ale of which there is an abundance of breweries in Norfolk! There will also be an opportunity to vote for your favourite “Pub of the Trail”.
CAMRA’s LocAle is a national initiative that promotes pubs that sell locally brewed real ale. LocAle is also about reducing the amount of beer miles that the beer travels between brewery and pub.
All the pubs on the trail have joined our LocAle scheme which means that at least one real ale – brewed within 30 miles of the pub – is on sale at all times.
Each trail pub will stamp a trail card for each pint of LocAle purchased (or soft drink for a designated driver) and can be collected in any order.
Completed trail cards can be exchanged for a free ale trail t-shirt as well as being entered into a prize draw. Prizes include brewery tours, local beer and even a chance to be a day as a Head Brewer!
There's information about the trail on our website and there's also a Google Map to help guide you to the pubs.
Peter Wells, one of the trail organisers, receives his first stamp from the Wig & Pen's general manager Holly Thomas.
The trail organisers and other CAMRA members celebrating the start of the Winter LocAle Trail 2012.
The aim of the trail is twofold: firstly to encourage beer drinkers to visit pubs that they would not normally visit during the winter month and secondly to promote CAMRA's LocAle Scheme and locally brewed real ale of which there is an abundance of breweries in Norfolk! There will also be an opportunity to vote for your favourite “Pub of the Trail”.
CAMRA’s LocAle is a national initiative that promotes pubs that sell locally brewed real ale. LocAle is also about reducing the amount of beer miles that the beer travels between brewery and pub.
All the pubs on the trail have joined our LocAle scheme which means that at least one real ale – brewed within 30 miles of the pub – is on sale at all times.
Each trail pub will stamp a trail card for each pint of LocAle purchased (or soft drink for a designated driver) and can be collected in any order.
Completed trail cards can be exchanged for a free ale trail t-shirt as well as being entered into a prize draw. Prizes include brewery tours, local beer and even a chance to be a day as a Head Brewer!
There's information about the trail on our website and there's also a Google Map to help guide you to the pubs.
Monday, 19 December 2011
2012 Norwich Beer Festival logo competition
With the 34th Norwich Beer festival now a slightly hazy memory, thoughts have now turned to preparing for the 35th, which will take place from the 29th October 2012.
To kick matters off we need a logo for the festival, which forms one of the prime marketing tools for the festival. “In previous years, we have received a remarkable number of entries with an amazing concoction of ideas” says Martin Ward, the current festival organiser.
Obviously in 2012, it being an anniversary year, we would like to make the logo a little special, but still with a dragon somewhere in the design. However designs involving five rings or torches, etc., will probably be dismissed straight away, just in case we run into difficulties with another major event taking place in 2012!
The winning entry will receive £100 plus a selection of goodies at the festival and be judged by the organising committee at the inaugural planning meeting in the New Year. The winning under-18 entrant will get a book voucher.
The most important element of the design is that a dragon must be included, but abstract is fine; with a maximum 5 colours (although 4 is preferable), including any black or white parts of the design.
Emailed entries should be in a computer readable format (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PDF, Postscript, GIMP, Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw), please. NO MS Word document files please.
Entries (one per sheet or email, maximum size A4) can be sent to Logo Competition, 32 Meadow Vale, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0NJ or email to nchbeerfeststaff@gmail.com by Monday, 20th February 2012.
On the back of the paper, or within the email, please specify "Adult" or "Under 18" and include your name, contact details and age (if under 18).
All entries become the property of Norwich & Norfolk Campaign for Real Ale and may be used for display and publicity purposes.
To kick matters off we need a logo for the festival, which forms one of the prime marketing tools for the festival. “In previous years, we have received a remarkable number of entries with an amazing concoction of ideas” says Martin Ward, the current festival organiser.
Obviously in 2012, it being an anniversary year, we would like to make the logo a little special, but still with a dragon somewhere in the design. However designs involving five rings or torches, etc., will probably be dismissed straight away, just in case we run into difficulties with another major event taking place in 2012!
The winning entry will receive £100 plus a selection of goodies at the festival and be judged by the organising committee at the inaugural planning meeting in the New Year. The winning under-18 entrant will get a book voucher.
The most important element of the design is that a dragon must be included, but abstract is fine; with a maximum 5 colours (although 4 is preferable), including any black or white parts of the design.
Emailed entries should be in a computer readable format (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PDF, Postscript, GIMP, Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw), please. NO MS Word document files please.
Entries (one per sheet or email, maximum size A4) can be sent to Logo Competition, 32 Meadow Vale, Costessey, Norwich, NR5 0NJ or email to nchbeerfeststaff@gmail.com by Monday, 20th February 2012.
On the back of the paper, or within the email, please specify "Adult" or "Under 18" and include your name, contact details and age (if under 18).
All entries become the property of Norwich & Norfolk Campaign for Real Ale and may be used for display and publicity purposes.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Norfolk Cider and Perry is the Best in East Anglia
Three Norfolk cider makers, Peter Blake, Jonty's Cider, and Whin Hill Cider, are celebrating wins at CAMRA's East Anglian Cider Competition. The competition, which attracted a total of 23 cider entries and 6 perry entries, took place at CAMRA's Norwich Beer Festival in October this year.
The results for cider were:
1st – Hog & Vine Original, made by Peter Blake in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
2nd – Early Night, made by Jonty's Cider (Banham, Norfolk)
3rd – Dry Cider, made by Glebe Farm (Kings Ripton, Cambridgeshire)
The other finalists were (in alphabetical order of maker):
Organic New Crop (Whisky Cask), made by Castlings Heath (Edwardstone, Suffolk)
Owld Norfolk, made by Crones Organic Cider (Kenninghall, Norfolk)
Orchard Cider, made by Greenwoods (Norwich, Norfolk)
The winning perry, for the second year in a row, was Whin Hill Perry, made by Whin Hill Cider (Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk).
The winning cider, Hog & Vine, from small cider maker Peter Blake, was described by judges as having "an aroma of a cornucopia of woodland fruits, a bit Christmas puddingesque. Flavoursome with lots of body, and a long lingering finish."
Some 10 years ago, Peter Blake and a group of friends thought it would be a good idea to make cider for personal consumption. Listening to the ‘buy and sell’ programme on Radio Norfolk one Saturday morning, they discovered some cider making equipment for sale, so duly purchased it.
The name, Hog and Vine comes from the old pig shed covered in vines that has been converted into a cider making shed. Peter Blake said "To say it was hard work is a massive understatement but we persevered and were pleasantly surprised with the results. Over the years we have progressed and modernised.
"I would like to thank all the people in the Martham area who kindly donate their apples, and to those who assist with the production." Peter added, "I am amazed and very proud that ‘Hog & Vine Original’ came out top against so many other excellent ciders."
The results for cider were:
1st – Hog & Vine Original, made by Peter Blake in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
2nd – Early Night, made by Jonty's Cider (Banham, Norfolk)
3rd – Dry Cider, made by Glebe Farm (Kings Ripton, Cambridgeshire)
The other finalists were (in alphabetical order of maker):
Organic New Crop (Whisky Cask), made by Castlings Heath (Edwardstone, Suffolk)
Owld Norfolk, made by Crones Organic Cider (Kenninghall, Norfolk)
Orchard Cider, made by Greenwoods (Norwich, Norfolk)
The winning perry, for the second year in a row, was Whin Hill Perry, made by Whin Hill Cider (Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk).
The winning cider, Hog & Vine, from small cider maker Peter Blake, was described by judges as having "an aroma of a cornucopia of woodland fruits, a bit Christmas puddingesque. Flavoursome with lots of body, and a long lingering finish."
Some 10 years ago, Peter Blake and a group of friends thought it would be a good idea to make cider for personal consumption. Listening to the ‘buy and sell’ programme on Radio Norfolk one Saturday morning, they discovered some cider making equipment for sale, so duly purchased it.
The name, Hog and Vine comes from the old pig shed covered in vines that has been converted into a cider making shed. Peter Blake said "To say it was hard work is a massive understatement but we persevered and were pleasantly surprised with the results. Over the years we have progressed and modernised.
"I would like to thank all the people in the Martham area who kindly donate their apples, and to those who assist with the production." Peter added, "I am amazed and very proud that ‘Hog & Vine Original’ came out top against so many other excellent ciders."
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Norwich MPs visit the 34th Norwich Beer Festival
Above: Mike Spivey, Chloe Smith and Martin WardBoth Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, and Simon Wright, MP for Norwich South, visited the very successful 34th Norwich CAMRA Beer Festival at St. Andrew's and Blackfriars' Halls on Friday 28th October.
Chloe Smith dropped into the lunchtime session and Simon Wright visited the evening session.
Martin Ward, the Festival Organiser, and Mike Spivey, the Branch Pubs Preservation Officer, accompanied by Mike Baldwin, Editor of the Branch Newsletter, Norfolk Nips, took the opportunity to explain to them how the festival was run and highlight some of the many issues facing local pubs and breweries today.
Martin Ward said that he was very pleased that they had both found the time to attend.
"It was a wonderful opportunity to meet them face to face," he said, "they were genuinely interested in our aims and objectives, which can only be good for the future.
"Today was all about building bridges," he added, "both Chloe Smith and Simon Wright (pictured above) now have a good understanding of the real ale, cider and perry scene in Norfolk and beyond and we look forward to a long and fruitful association with them."
Photographs by Mike Baldwin
Monday, 20 June 2011
215 different real ales on sale in Norwich - June 18th 2011
A survey organised by the Norwich & Norfolk branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), and carried out in the city on Saturday, 18th June 2011, found an amazing 215 different real ales available, topping recent claims from other cities to the title of UK Capital of Real Ale, per head of population.
A team of 26 volunteers visited 136 pubs, of which 113 (83%) offered a total of 489 real ales and 24 real ciders and perries. The total of 215 different ales beats the numbers achieved in similar surveys in Derby (161 ales, population 240,000) and Sheffield (240, 500,000 – which is a far larger population than Norwich).
Local ales from 22 of the county’s breweries were on sale with Woodforde’s Wherry taking the accolade of most popular ale, being available in 43 pubs. The Fat Cat had the most ales on the bar with 31, followed by the Whalebone (20), Duke of Wellington (16), Fat Cat Brewery Tap (15) and The Plasterers Arms (14). A dozen pubs visited were serving 7 or more ales.
However, pubs across the city contributed to the total with 56 pubs selling ales not available anywhere else, from the Maids Head in Catton (Flowers, IPA) to the Bread and Cheese, Adelaide Street (Wolf, Lupus Lupus) and from Otter Ale in the Birdcage to St Austell Tribute in the Cock at Lakenham.
The price of a pint of real ale ranged from £1.70 for a pint of Ruddles Best (3.7% ABV) in the Queen of the Iceni to £3.60 for Adnams Tally Ho (7.2% ABV) in the Fat Cat, with the average price still below the £3 mark at £2.95.
Ian Stamp, Norwich CAMRA member and organiser of the survey, said “This is an amazing result – we expected to get over 150 ales but 215 is fantastic and a great tribute to the publicans and real ale drinkers across the whole city who demand and get an excellent range of real ales and ciders”. Surely Norwich is the City of Ale!
Other statistics:
- Total pubs surveyed: 136
- Total serving real ale: 113 (83%)
- Total ales on sale: 498 (plus 24 ciders and perries), 186 from Norfolk Breweries
- Unique ales on sale: 215 (18 ciders and perries - subject to verification)
- Ales on sale in one pub only: 144
- Prices: £1.70 - £3.60, average £2.95 (Norfolk beers £2.92, non-Norfolk beers £2.97)
- Breweries: 98 (22 from Norfolk)
- Average ABV: 4.2%
Most Popular Beers (with publicans!):
43 Woodfordes Wherry
28 Adnams Southwold Bitter
23 Fullers London Pride
16 Greene King IPA
14 Greene King Abbot
13 Wolf Golden Jackal
12 Adnams Broadside
Woodfordes Nelsons Revenge
6 Hop Back Summer Lightning
Sharps Doombar
Wells & Youngs Bombardier
Oakham JHB
Woodfordes Once Bittern
Woodfordes Sundew
Pubs with more than 2 unique ales:
17 Fat Cat
15 Whalebone
7 White Lion
6 Duke of Wellington
Kings Head
Plasterers
5 Bell
Kings Arms
4 Fat Cat Brewery Tap
Plough (out of 4!)
Trafford Arms
3 Coach & Horses, Thorpe Road
Cottage, Silver road
Micawbers
Woolpack
Pubs with most local ales:
13 The Plasterers
12 Fat Cat
10 Kings Head
6 Ketts Tavern
Coach and Horses, Thorpe Road
5 Beehive, Leopold Road
Fat Cat Brewery Tap
Rose, Queens Road
4 Coachmakers
Jubilee
Duke of Wellington
Bell
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