For the fourth consecutive year, the members of the Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA
(Campaign for Real Ale) have selected The White Lion pub, on Oak Street in Norwich, as the branch's Cider Pub of the Year.
Pubs within the branch providing the best real cider and perry have
been nominated by members and the final voting took place at the recent branch AGM.
Although the White Lion has won the award since the Cider Pub of the Year was introduced in
2012, it is the first time that Landlord Alex Waters has received the Norwich & Norfolk
branch’s title although he has worked there for a number of years.
Mr Water said after being
given the good news: "We are thrilled to hear that The White Lion has been awarded the
Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year. Since taking over from Ben and Becky
Ackers in August 2014, we have continued to specialise in providing a diverse range of quality
real ciders from all parts of the country, with an emphasis on Norfolk cider”.
He continued: "We sell ciders from Jonty's, Crone's, East Norfolk, Harleston, Burnard's, the Norfolk Cider
Company and Whin Hill, as well as 10-15 ciders from the West Country, Wales, Essex and
elsewhere. We also sell lots of good real ale and home cooked, locally sourced seasonal
British food.
"We are passionate about what we do here and would like to thank the Norfolk
and Norwich branch CAMRA members for voting for us and continuing to drink at The White
Lion."
The White Lion now goes into a head-to-head with the West Norfolk branch’s winner, The
Railway Tavern in Downham Market and also the Wortwell Bell which was Mid Anglia’s winner,
with the overall Norfolk victor progressing to the Regional level of the competition.
Warren Wordsworth, the Norwich and Norfolk Branch Chairman said: “I would like to
congratulate The White Lion for winning Norwich & Norfolk Branch’s Cider Pub of the Year for
an impressive fourth year in a row.
"The White Lion is a great pub, which actually was closed
for quite a number of years but reopened in September 2008, and now has an excellent
choice of ciders and perries which has helped raise awareness of local producers and the
variety of these traditional, natural drinks available at pubs. I wish The White Lion and Mr
Waters luck in the future rounds of the competition”.
The White Lion will be presented with the award certificate in the near future.
Monday, 27 April 2015
Monday, 13 April 2015
Kett's Rebellion is top Norfolk beer of 2015
Woodforde’s Brewery's Kett's Rebellion has claimed the top prize in the Norwich and Norfolk Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Taste Panel.
The trained tasters have sampled 44 different beers, hailing from 14 breweries all over Norfolk, and submitted a total of 2014 taste cards from the tastings held at various pubs over the last year.
Alan Edwards, Chair of the Tasting Panel, described the winning beer as having “decent depth of flavour, well balanced and malty on the palate with a lovely sweetness coming through. Subtle hops are there to provide contrast”.
He also said that: “it is pleasing that the awards cover a variety of our 30-plus Norfolk breweries. Our largest producer can be proud that two beers, including the flagship Wherry Best Bitter, took the top awards in their categories before scooping the overall top places.
In contrast, our smaller concerns are well represented by the Golden Triangle, Lacon’s and Grain breweries. We can rightly be proud of the number of the breweries and beers they produce. There is something for everyone in the brews they offer”.
Neil Bain of Woodforde’s Brewery said he was “absolutely delighted” upon hearing the news from Mr Edwards. The Woodbastwick based brewery, which is Norfolk’s largest, also claimed the Bitter award with its Wherry.
Great Yarmouth based Lacon’s Brewery’s Affinity won the Golden Ale category. The Speciality category was topped by Blonde Ash from Grain Brewery from Alburgh, South Norfolk and the Golden Triangle brewery from Barford took the Strong Bitter award with Hop Lobster.
Mr Edwards continued: “However, what is of concern is that these beers are not as widely available as either the brewers or CAMRA would like. With more breweries starting every year, continual pub closures and domination by pub chains, large and small, the opportunity for a brewer to sell their beer at a realistic price is increasingly restricted.
"The panel is charged with tasting as many local brews as possible. However only 14 breweries products were sampled as, despite visiting many local hostelries, many remained disappointingly elusive. Brewer and Llndlord need to work together to ensure their mutual survival in the face of the voracious national and international conglomerates.
"We at CAMRA are willing and able to continue to further our relationships with, and efforts in support of, our dynamic local industries.”
RESULTS
Best Bitter & Champion: Woodforde’s, Kett’s Rebellion
Bitter & runner up: Woodforde’s, Wherry
Strong Bitter & third place: Golden Triangle, Hop Lobster
Golden Ale: Lacon’s Brewery, Affinity
Speciality Beer: Grain Brewery, Blonde Ash
Porter & Stout: Grain Brewery, Porter
The trained tasters have sampled 44 different beers, hailing from 14 breweries all over Norfolk, and submitted a total of 2014 taste cards from the tastings held at various pubs over the last year.
Alan Edwards, Chair of the Tasting Panel, described the winning beer as having “decent depth of flavour, well balanced and malty on the palate with a lovely sweetness coming through. Subtle hops are there to provide contrast”.
He also said that: “it is pleasing that the awards cover a variety of our 30-plus Norfolk breweries. Our largest producer can be proud that two beers, including the flagship Wherry Best Bitter, took the top awards in their categories before scooping the overall top places.
In contrast, our smaller concerns are well represented by the Golden Triangle, Lacon’s and Grain breweries. We can rightly be proud of the number of the breweries and beers they produce. There is something for everyone in the brews they offer”.
Neil Bain of Woodforde’s Brewery said he was “absolutely delighted” upon hearing the news from Mr Edwards. The Woodbastwick based brewery, which is Norfolk’s largest, also claimed the Bitter award with its Wherry.
Great Yarmouth based Lacon’s Brewery’s Affinity won the Golden Ale category. The Speciality category was topped by Blonde Ash from Grain Brewery from Alburgh, South Norfolk and the Golden Triangle brewery from Barford took the Strong Bitter award with Hop Lobster.
Mr Edwards continued: “However, what is of concern is that these beers are not as widely available as either the brewers or CAMRA would like. With more breweries starting every year, continual pub closures and domination by pub chains, large and small, the opportunity for a brewer to sell their beer at a realistic price is increasingly restricted.
"The panel is charged with tasting as many local brews as possible. However only 14 breweries products were sampled as, despite visiting many local hostelries, many remained disappointingly elusive. Brewer and Llndlord need to work together to ensure their mutual survival in the face of the voracious national and international conglomerates.
"We at CAMRA are willing and able to continue to further our relationships with, and efforts in support of, our dynamic local industries.”
RESULTS
Best Bitter & Champion: Woodforde’s, Kett’s Rebellion
Bitter & runner up: Woodforde’s, Wherry
Strong Bitter & third place: Golden Triangle, Hop Lobster
Golden Ale: Lacon’s Brewery, Affinity
Speciality Beer: Grain Brewery, Blonde Ash
Porter & Stout: Grain Brewery, Porter
Tuesday, 7 April 2015
Champion Bottled Beer of Norfolk 2015 results
The Panther Brewery of Reepham is purring with delight after their Black
Panther Stout was named CAMRA’s Best Bottled Beer in Norfolk 2015.
The comments from the tasters included “A full, slightly smoky aroma”, “Complex, with a roast and cherry liquor character”, “Mellow and smooth”.
Competition organiser Alan Edwards explained: “The panel had to taste 44 entries from 10 ofNorfolk
"The panellists were pleased with the variety of beers on offer; everyone found more than one beer to match their own style choice. This was the fourth year of the competition and again we were well served by ourNorfolk
The Panther Brewery also took the top award in the Golden Ale section. When being told the good news, Martin James from Panther Brewery said: "We are delighted to have won the awards as we have worked very hard at the oldest working brewery site inNorfolk
In the overall category, the Silver award was taken by Why Not Brewery with Chocolate Nutter and the Bronze was awarded to Humpty Dumpty Brewery's Red Mill.
For the first time theWest Norfolk branch
of CAMRA hosted one of the rounds as the organisers look to take the
competition to members throughout the county.
Six breweries were award winners and a presentation evening will take place at the Leopard pub,Bull Close
Road , Norwich
Real Ale In A Bottle (RAIB) is one of the cornerstones of CAMRA’s campaign to widen the market for our local breweries. Many of the beers are sold in local supermarkets, at Farmers Markets or direct from the brewery. Alan Edwards explained: "If you can’t get to the pub, then bring the beer to yourself!"
A full list of results, along with the contact details of the winning breweries, are below.
OVERALL WINNER CATEGORY
GOLD: PANTHER BREWERY - BLACK PANTHER
SILVER: WHY NOT BREWERY - CHOCOLATE NUTTER
BRONZE: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - RED MILL
MILD, BROWN & OLD ALE CATEGORY
GOLD: WHY NOT BREWERY - CHOCOLATE NUTTER
SILVER: ELMTREE BREWERY - NIGHTLIGHT MILD
BITTER CATEGORY
GOLD: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - RED MILL
SILVER: WINTERS BREWERY - CLOUDBURST
BRONZE: ELMTREE BREWERY -NORFOLK
STRONG BITTER CATEGORY
GOLD: WINTERS BREWERY - STORM FORCE
SILVER: ELMTREE BREWERY - GAMBRINOSITY
BRONZE: YETMANS BREWERY – GREEN
GOLDEN ALE CATEGORY
GOLD: PANTHER BREWERY - GOLD
SILVER: WHY NOT BREWERY - HARE OF THE DOG
BRONZE: WINTERS BREWERY – GOLDEN
SPECIALITY CATEGORY
GOLD: WHY NOT BREWERY -NORFOLK
SILVER: POPPYLAND BREWERY - ON THE EDGE
STOUT AND PORTER CATEGORY
GOLD PANTHER BREWERY - BLACK PANTHER
SILVER: WINTERS BREWERY – GENIUS
UNIQUE CATEGORY
GOLD: POPPYLAND BREWERY - DAYS OF EMPIRE
The comments from the tasters included “A full, slightly smoky aroma”, “Complex, with a roast and cherry liquor character”, “Mellow and smooth”.
Competition organiser Alan Edwards explained: “The panel had to taste 44 entries from 10 of
"The panellists were pleased with the variety of beers on offer; everyone found more than one beer to match their own style choice. This was the fourth year of the competition and again we were well served by our
The Panther Brewery also took the top award in the Golden Ale section. When being told the good news, Martin James from Panther Brewery said: "We are delighted to have won the awards as we have worked very hard at the oldest working brewery site in
In the overall category, the Silver award was taken by Why Not Brewery with Chocolate Nutter and the Bronze was awarded to Humpty Dumpty Brewery's Red Mill.
For the first time the
Six breweries were award winners and a presentation evening will take place at the Leopard pub,
Real Ale In A Bottle (RAIB) is one of the cornerstones of CAMRA’s campaign to widen the market for our local breweries. Many of the beers are sold in local supermarkets, at Farmers Markets or direct from the brewery. Alan Edwards explained: "If you can’t get to the pub, then bring the beer to yourself!"
A full list of results, along with the contact details of the winning breweries, are below.
OVERALL WINNER CATEGORY
GOLD: PANTHER BREWERY - BLACK PANTHER
SILVER: WHY NOT BREWERY - CHOCOLATE NUTTER
BRONZE: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - RED MILL
MILD, BROWN & OLD ALE CATEGORY
GOLD: WHY NOT BREWERY - CHOCOLATE NUTTER
SILVER: ELMTREE BREWERY - NIGHTLIGHT MILD
BITTER CATEGORY
GOLD: HUMPTY DUMPTY BREWERY - RED MILL
SILVER: WINTERS BREWERY - CLOUDBURST
BRONZE: ELMTREE BREWERY -
STRONG BITTER CATEGORY
GOLD: WINTERS BREWERY - STORM FORCE
SILVER: ELMTREE BREWERY - GAMBRINOSITY
BRONZE: YETMANS BREWERY – GREEN
GOLDEN ALE CATEGORY
GOLD: PANTHER BREWERY - GOLD
SILVER: WHY NOT BREWERY - HARE OF THE DOG
BRONZE: WINTERS BREWERY – GOLDEN
SPECIALITY CATEGORY
GOLD: WHY NOT BREWERY -
SILVER: POPPYLAND BREWERY - ON THE EDGE
STOUT AND PORTER CATEGORY
GOLD PANTHER BREWERY - BLACK PANTHER
SILVER: WINTERS BREWERY – GENIUS
UNIQUE CATEGORY
GOLD: POPPYLAND BREWERY - DAYS OF EMPIRE
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Branch "Pub Of The Year" 2015 results
Members of the Norwich & Norfolk Leopold Road , Norwich
It is the first time that Landlady Alex Kerridge has been awarded theNorwich & Norfolk
"Serving up top notch beer is my passion but I could not have done it without the support of friends, family, Norwich CAMRA, loyal customers and dedicated staff”.
The Norwich & Norfolk Pub of the Year is chosen from the winners of the Branch’s Rural and City Pubs of the Year.
The 2015 Rural Pub of the Year was won by The Green Dragon, in Wymondham, which they have also been awarded three times before. The Landlord, Justin Harvey said: “Here at the Green Dragon we are delighted to receive the rural pub of the year award from Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA.
"Everybody knows the difficulties that tied houses like ourselves face and so it's always extra special to receive this kind of recognition. We would like to thank CAMRA and all of their members who so kindly support us, our regulars and of course our hard working and passionate staff.”
The Beehive now goes into a head-to-head with the West Norfolk branch’s winner, The Coach and Horses, in Dersingham, who won the top accolade last year, and possibly Mid Anglia’s winner if that is a pub in South Norfolk, with the victor progressing to the regional level of the competition.
Warren Wordsworth , the Norwich &
Norfolk Branch Chairman, said: “I would like to congratulate The Beehive for
winning Norwich & Norfolk Branch’s City Pub of the Year and overall Branch
Pub of the Year, both for the first time, and also The Green Dragon for winning
the Rural award again.
"The Beehive is a great pub, just off the ring road, with a very good real ale choice and I’m delighted Alex’s hard work over the past few years has paid off. I wish The Beehive and Alex luck in the future rounds of the competition”.
The winners will be presented with their award certificates in the near future.
It is the first time that Landlady Alex Kerridge has been awarded the
"Serving up top notch beer is my passion but I could not have done it without the support of friends, family, Norwich CAMRA, loyal customers and dedicated staff”.
The Norwich & Norfolk Pub of the Year is chosen from the winners of the Branch’s Rural and City Pubs of the Year.
The 2015 Rural Pub of the Year was won by The Green Dragon, in Wymondham, which they have also been awarded three times before. The Landlord, Justin Harvey said: “Here at the Green Dragon we are delighted to receive the rural pub of the year award from Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA.
"Everybody knows the difficulties that tied houses like ourselves face and so it's always extra special to receive this kind of recognition. We would like to thank CAMRA and all of their members who so kindly support us, our regulars and of course our hard working and passionate staff.”
The Beehive now goes into a head-to-head with the West Norfolk branch’s winner, The Coach and Horses, in Dersingham, who won the top accolade last year, and possibly Mid Anglia’s winner if that is a pub in South Norfolk, with the victor progressing to the regional level of the competition.
"The Beehive is a great pub, just off the ring road, with a very good real ale choice and I’m delighted Alex’s hard work over the past few years has paid off. I wish The Beehive and Alex luck in the future rounds of the competition”.
The winners will be presented with their award certificates in the near future.
Monday, 15 December 2014
2014 Norwich Beer Festival hailed a great success!
Judging by the positive public feedback and the crowds who flocked to the 37th Norwich Beer Festival, the organisers from the Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) have hailed this year’s festival as a great success.
The annual event, held in St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls in Norwich during the week commencing Monday 27th October, again proved to be very popular with over 19,000 festival goers coming through the door.
The warm weather helped attract good numbers of new and regular visitors alike. The use of social media sites, such as Twitter, enabled organisers to provide updates on each session’s entrance price and time, entertainment acts and of course the refreshments available. A list of all the real ale was available online which was well received by drinkers who were also able to rate beers too.
The featured ales from Marble Brewery from Manchester proved a big hit with the excellent range of styles because all the beers had been drunk by Saturday night, and also the tutored tasting sessions proved popular again this year.
Furthermore it was a record-breaking year for the local CAMRA Branch’s Charity for 2014, the Hamlet Centre Trust of Norwich. Charity staff, trustees and volunteers attended to collect donations and unspent beer cards from Beer Festival attendees and collected a total of £9,500, with some funds still likely to come in. This amount is nearly double the figure that has been raised in previous years.
Pauline Morgan, Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of CAMRA and the attendees of the 37th Norwich Beer Festival. We are so privileged and grateful to be nominated as the Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA Charity of the Year and the amount raised has exceeded all expectations.”
Pauline continued: “We would like to thank CAMRA and everybody who both donated and supported us in raising such an amazing amount.” The money raised will go towards providing ongoing support for families of children and young adults with disabilities across the trust.
A formal presentation of the cheque from the Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA branch will be arranged for early 2015.
Two local breweries took the top two honours of the 2014 Beer Festival. The awards for the favourite beers, ciders and perries of the festival are voted each year by the drinkers at the festival. The overall Gold winner was Old Stoatwobbler by Beeston Brewery (based in Norfolk), Silver place went to Slate from Grain Brewery (Norfolk) and Marble Brewery’s (Greater Manchester) Earl Grey IPA won Bronze.
The annual event, held in St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls in Norwich during the week commencing Monday 27th October, again proved to be very popular with over 19,000 festival goers coming through the door.
The warm weather helped attract good numbers of new and regular visitors alike. The use of social media sites, such as Twitter, enabled organisers to provide updates on each session’s entrance price and time, entertainment acts and of course the refreshments available. A list of all the real ale was available online which was well received by drinkers who were also able to rate beers too.
The featured ales from Marble Brewery from Manchester proved a big hit with the excellent range of styles because all the beers had been drunk by Saturday night, and also the tutored tasting sessions proved popular again this year.
Furthermore it was a record-breaking year for the local CAMRA Branch’s Charity for 2014, the Hamlet Centre Trust of Norwich. Charity staff, trustees and volunteers attended to collect donations and unspent beer cards from Beer Festival attendees and collected a total of £9,500, with some funds still likely to come in. This amount is nearly double the figure that has been raised in previous years.
Pauline Morgan, Chief Executive Officer commented: “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of CAMRA and the attendees of the 37th Norwich Beer Festival. We are so privileged and grateful to be nominated as the Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA Charity of the Year and the amount raised has exceeded all expectations.”
Pauline continued: “We would like to thank CAMRA and everybody who both donated and supported us in raising such an amazing amount.” The money raised will go towards providing ongoing support for families of children and young adults with disabilities across the trust.
A formal presentation of the cheque from the Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA branch will be arranged for early 2015.
Two local breweries took the top two honours of the 2014 Beer Festival. The awards for the favourite beers, ciders and perries of the festival are voted each year by the drinkers at the festival. The overall Gold winner was Old Stoatwobbler by Beeston Brewery (based in Norfolk), Silver place went to Slate from Grain Brewery (Norfolk) and Marble Brewery’s (Greater Manchester) Earl Grey IPA won Bronze.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
2015 Norwich Beer Festival logo competition launched
The annual competition to find the new logo for the 38th Norwich Beer Festival, which will take place from Monday 26th October 2015, has just been launched. This is one of the first tasks for the annual beer festival and the logo will be one of the prime marketing tools for the festival.
Martin Ward, the festival organiser for the previous 11 years, said: “As ever, we are hopeful we will receive a large and superb array of entries. We receive entries on various themes, which just must include a dragon in some form, but the entrants can choose the setting. We always look forward to having a tough decision over the eventual winner!”.
The main winner will be judged by the organising committee at the planning meetings in the New Year and will receive £100 along with a selection of merchandising at the festival featuring their logo.
The winning under-18 entrant will get a book voucher and there will be ten runner-up prizes of complementary festival tickets. 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).
As always, the most important element is that a dragon must be included within the design, but abstract is fine; with a maximum five colours (although four 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 and with a maximum size A4) can be sent to Beer Festival Logo Competition, 22 Branford Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 4QD or email to camrabeerfest@gmail.com by Monday 16th February 2015 at the latest.
All entries will become the property of Norwich & Norfolk branch of the Campaign for Real Ale and may be used for display and publicity purposes.
Monday, 19 May 2014
Norwich Beer Festival logo unveiled
The beer festival logo is widely used to promote the Festival on souvenir glasses, pin badges and clothing and so the merit of each entry, an impressive number of more than 70 this year, were carefully deliberated before the winner was selected by the Beer Festival Planning meeting attendees.
The 2014 winner is James Woodrow, from Thorpe Hamlet, who was so delighted on hearing the good news about his entry he proclaimed “Oh! I think I shall have a pint of Old Stoatwobbler!”.
He adds, “When the Festival glass is available, I think I shall have another one!”.
The legendary Old Stoatwobbler is a strong black stout which was originally brewed by Spectrum Brewery, which has sadly now closed, but the secret recipe has been passed to Beeston Brewery who continue to brew the 6% beer.
James has visited the Norwich Beer Festival every year since it started in 1977 and has entered the annual competition since it was first introduced in the early Eighties.
In fact his first attempt, which he admitted was “a hasty effort, drawn on the back of a beermat whilst being given a lift home in a rather wobbly bus, probably didn’t occupy the judges for long!”.
Now James has achieved his ambition, only time will tell if he continues to enter the competition again next year!
Martin Ward, the Festival Organiser, said that James’ design stood out because of the rare depiction of the building in which the Beer Festival takes place, as well as the nice shape of the dragon, which is the only design requirement given to entrants.
James wins £100 and also a selection of merchandise featuring his logo, including the glass, as keepsakes.
The 37th Norwich Beer Festival runs from Monday October 27th to Saturday November 1st 2014, at St. Andrew's & Blackfriars' Halls, Norwich.
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