THE CARLISLE STATE MANAGEMENT SCHEME

Mrs Ken and myself had a recent day trip to Carlisle. We parked up in a large car park located between the Castle and the West Coast Main Line. Glancing across to the line in the hope of spotting a train going passed, I noticed a long two story brick building with the words THE CARLISLE OLD BREWERY COMPANY LIMITED displayed on it. 

"Look at that " I exclaimed, "its the old Theakstons brewery". Blank look from Mrs Ken. " You know, the Carlisle State Management Scheme ?"   This time a look like I had grown a second head. 

Never mind,  it was time to refresh my memory as to when and how this scheme started and ended. So this is a brief history.

During the first World War there were large munitions factories in Gretna just over the Scottish border  As beer for Gretna was brewed in Carlisle, to discourage the workers there from drinking too much, in 1916 the UK Government took over the brewing, distribution and sale of all booze in the Carlisle area. Two other parts of the UK were affected, Enfield and Cromarty Firth. Carlisle was the largest and is the most well known.

Included in the scheme was restricted opening hours, the forbidding of buying a round of drinks and the refurbishment ( and sometimes demolition) of pubs in the area. There was even a style of pub designed which affected the design of pubs in UK.

In 1971 the then Government decided to privatise the scheme, with Theakstons buying the brewery. This lasted until 1987 when the it closed due to financial reasons, with production being transferred to Newcastle.

The Old Carlisle Brewery complex is now student accommodation.

Every pub still open in Carlisle that is over 30 years old was in the scheme. In fact the first I ever visited in the city, back in the 90's,  was a former state management pub, the Milbourne Arms.

A few years ago, on a pub crawl, we enjoyed the beer and the surroundings of  the Kings Head in the centre  and The Boardroom next to the cathedral.  

Now, a splendid initiative called THE STATE MANAGEMENT STORY has been launched , the link of which can be found here. http://thestatemanagementstory.org/ 

As well as a comprehensive history, there are details of  a pub trail, the impact the scheme had on the rest of the UK,  and other useful information. They are asking if anyone has more information to contact them via the website.

THE MOO BAR IN CARLISLE

Mrs Ken and I visited Carlisle recently for a day out.  We did some touristy stuff first such as viewing a steam train in the station , and the inevitable retail therapy. This was all thirsty work so guess what ? - time for a pub. 

Since it opened last year I have always wanted to go to the Moo Bar in the city centre. Why ? Well because this bar opened at the end of 2014 with a blaze of publicity stating they would be selling 40 beers, 24 cask and 16 keg, as well has a large selection of bottled beers.

I was expecting a heaving mass of drinkers attracted to try so many beers, but no ! There were only two customers present when we walked into this converted shop, passing the barman having a fag in the doorway.
.

Being midweek, there were "only"  9 handpulls in use so ordered a pint of an American Wheat Beer from Ilkley Brewery , called Damn Good Threshing. Sipping this 5.1% , slightly cloudy beer, I realised it must be stronger than I thought. because from my seat I could only see 18 handpulls. Counted them twice, yep still only 18 ! I asked mine host about the other 6. "Oh we took them off earlier this year  as just not selling". This is despite the fact the Moo Bar  website, pub literature and CAMRA Whatpub all say 24. Hmmph !

Still 18 is still a good number to have , the most I believe I have ever seen in a bar.  

You are probably thinking Ive lost it now but another interesting feature are their nuts. I asked for some dry roasted and the barman pulled out from under the bar a large glass jar full of them and proceeded to pour a large pile into a cardboard container ( see photo of my nuts). Only £1, a bargain..

The odd punter wandered in during this ( it was  mid afternoon). There is no TV, gaming machines or piped music. Just a quiet pub.

So if you are Carlisle, call in, try the beers, count the handpulls and get some nuts.

When we parked the car I spotted  the old Carlisle Brewery , but that's another story.

TO BE CONTINUED.............

THE MOST PERFECT PUB IN UK ?

I think I may have found the UK's most perfect pub.

We recently visited Whitby in North Yorkshire on a pub coach trip for the Whitby Regatta. It was August and the weather was sunny and warm. Now I've never been regattaing before but pubbing, drinking and seaside fish and chips is something else entirely.

We have been to Whitby many times and there are several real ale pubs in the town. One that has eluded me till now is The Endeavour. This has been recommended to me more than once so during some online research, I discovered the pub does not provide hot food but you can take in your own fish and chips. To top this there is a fish and chip shop, Mister Chips, only  25 yards away.

So on arrival in the town the first thing to do was to head to the station for some photographs of a North York Moors Railway steam train just pulling in. Having got that out of my system, it was across the street to the Station Inn for a pint to start the ball rolling. The local Whitby Brewery makes a beer called Platform 3 only for the pub, and set me up for doing some tourist stuff to build up an appetite for the afternoons big event.

Taking in a classic car show on West Cliff then a walk along the beach, watching some competitive rowing out at sea, then back through the crowds to the bridge over the harbour. The Endeavour can be found by crossing this bridge then turning right. Usually tourists turn left and walk along the pedestrianised street to reach the 199 steps up to Whitby Abbey. The Mister Chips fish and chip shop comes first then just after it is the pub. 

Securing a table and a pint of Marstons King of Swing in a proper dimpled glass, we sat down to listen to a group of musicians in the back of the pub belting out some foot tapping folk tunes. There were four handpulls on the bar, including a real cider, and the beer was in excellent condition.

While yours truly kept the seats, Mrs Ken went off to get the fish and chips with the discovery that Mister Chips had been visited by Jeremy Clarkson and James May.

While tucking into our meal one of the barmen came over and, without us having to ask,  left us salt, vinegar and some paper towels. Unbelievable service. 

After completion of our meals, the manager, who was dressed in an RNLI tee shirt and knee length shorts came over and asked if we had finished. He then took our by now empty boxes, went out side, crossed the busy road and chucked them in the skip for us!  Fantastic!  Time for another pint,  Salopian Hoptwister, and time to digest our food and listen to the music still raising the roof in the back.

After this amazing experience, we reluctantly had to tear ourselves away as wanted to go up to Whitby Abbey overlooking the town. After a fruitless search for Count Dracula's gravestone in St Marys Church, we descended the aforesaid 199 steps and decided to pop into one of oldest pubs in Whitby, The Black Horse for a final pint. 

Standing outside was the Endeavour manager in the RNLI tee shirt and knee length shorts! It reminded me of those old films set on a Scottish Island (eg Whiskey Galore), where the same person had multiple jobs, like the postman, policeman and publican. He either ran both pubs or he was sussing out the opposition.

The pub was fairly quiet so settled down with a pint of Black Dog Rhatas  and reminded ourselves of the last time we were in 2 years ago...........

It was a hot sunny summers day and I was gasping for a pint. The front room of he Black Horse  looked crowded so found a small bar to the left with a couple of spare stools. I'd just ordered a pint of Workie Ticket when this guy at the other end of the small bar suddenly burst into song. At first I thought it was the local nutter then realised nearly half the inhabitants of the bar joined in. We had walked into an impromptu budding Steeleye Span folk music session.

When the singer stopped, there was a brief applause then someone else started, accompanied by a guitarist strumming away.The bar was filling up, with all seats and stools taken, and punters lining the small staircase towards the back of the bar listening to the music.

By now the beer was Workieing its way through so said to the barman "Your going to tell me the loos are up there aren't you ?", pointing through the throng up the small staircase.

"I'm afraid so sir".

So mid song I had to push myself through the singing crowd, who were well into this sea shanty by now. I managed to plough through without knocking anyone over and got to the gents just in time......

Back to the present, sadly we had to finish our drinks and head back to the town centre for our coach back home. There are a lot of fish and chip shops in Whitby, many of which had long queues outside. Most people seem to spend their time eating on the move, or perched on a sea wall being harassed by seagulls. It's the Endeavour every time from now on. 

MEMORIES

There was an article in a recent weekend newspaper supplement about memory loss. A study had concluded that middle aged men who drink the equivalent of two and a half pints of beer a day risk speeding up memory loss by six years.

Well I try to limit myself to 9 or 10 pints a week, so that's me in the clear then , or am I ? Sometimes, especially if I order a pint of a beer I've not had before, I'll sit down and think, what the hell is this again ? Writing it down or taking a picture of the handpull seem to be the only way these days.

Invariably on a pub crawl , and being Master of the Coin * I will forget to order one of the guys pint. Having said that,   on our last outing -  to Edinburgh, I forgot to order my own !

I can usually remember pubs Ive been in many years ago, but not the recent price of any foodstuff. Well its a question of priorities, isn't it?

Do you not think its somewhat ironic that we can remember events where we forget things ?

Now where's that publish button ?

* As in Game of Thrones

GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL - AFTERMATH

Well that's it for another year.  You look forward to something for twelve months, and its over just like that. I find that occasions like these are more about the people you meet up with than the beer you try. There were nine of us this year from various parts of the UK and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

My day to Olympia in London started with a cancelled train at Durham, and ended with a delayed journey going home the same day. I will spare you the details, perhaps relive those experiences in a train blog later ( oh no!)

It was raining in London and I managed to get to the venue just before opening time to join the ticket holders queue. It snaked round the building and onward towards Heathrow, so I had long enough to think " hang on, I travel the furthest of our group, but still manage to get here first !" 

In a previous blog, I referred to the great unwashed queue - those without tickets. Well with the rain tipping it down it was a case of the great washed queue this time.

Once in, you are immediately relieved of your ticket, £1 for the festival guide, and  £3 for a souvenir glass (refundable). You are then confronted by the vast hall that is Olympia and the 21 bars, 900 real ales, ciders and perries, numerous food stalls and CAMRA stands. So how do you choose which beers to sample? 

Well CAMRA always publicise on their website the beers that will be available, so I had a fair idea of what I would be drinking. I usually refer to the books 300 Beers To Try Before You Die, and its sequel, 300 More for suggestions to try.

I decided to fly the flag for a local brewery by starting with Maxim Lambtons (see photo left) then moving on to Potbelly Venom, with the claim the beer was green. Well there's green and there's green. See photo on right to form your own opinion. There  was nothing in the program notes about the flavour, just the colour. I was not impressed.

I'm not going to bore you with the full list but I did enjoy Sulwath Black Galloway Porter and  Thurston's Milk Stout.  

 

Musical Interlude

For each of the days of the festival, Tuesday through to Saturday, musical entertainment is provided. We were near the stage. We were also not far from, and new this year, a Portacabin gents toilet. You took your life in your hands being too close to the bowl when you flushed, as this intense sucking noise occurred, nearly removing all the oxygen from the near vicinity. 

Anyhow, this toilet edifice was directly behind the tables and seating facing the stage. So we were treated to a reggae band called Talisman (no me neither). Their view from the stage would have been a lot of disinterested drinkers and the gents behind them. I should have asked if they did requests, and would have suggested "Louie Louie" if they did. (sorry!) 

Feeding time

There were several food stalls dotted around, selling sandwiches, pasties and pies amongst other delights. While the others stuffed their faces with pasties, hot dogs and sarnies, I brought my own Chiabatti bread chicken paste sandwiches and a fantastic pork pie - well it meant more money for beer, didn't it?. This pie kept me going till breakfast the next day. In fact, the beer kept me going the next day as well but perhaps that's too much detail.

 

Best quote of the day  

One of the bars was a Shepherd Neame brewery bar. Britain's oldest brewer had six beers on offer including Spitfire, Red Sails Cheery Porter and Bishops Finger. I picked up a sheet of tasting notes and passed it round our group. One of them read down and declared " Ive had a Bishops Finger "  

So that's it for another year. 364 days and counting 

See previous blogs for other posts on the festival

GREAT BRITISH BEER FESTIVAL - EPISODE 3.

Well I see the Champion Beer of Britain 2015 has been announced.   It is ( drum roll) :-

TINY REBEL'S CWTCH. 

I am unfamiliar with this Newport based brewery and the beer. It won Gold in the Best Bitter Class and overall Gold as Champion.

The full list can be viewed here

http://www.camra.org.uk/news/-/asset_publisher/1dUgQCmQMoVC/content/champion-beer-of-brita-1?_101_INSTANCE_1dUgQCmQMoVC_redirect=%2Fnews 

Have been scratching my head about the beers' pronunciation. Found a Welsh dictionary which suggested either Cootch or Cutch. 

Now if it's anything like previous years, when we get there the winner will have sold out, with a promise that another cask will be available mid afternoon.Cue mid afternoon and a long queue will develop with punters gasping to try the winner. In 2014 you may recall the winner was Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker. The group I was with were not that excited so we didn't bother. I had drank it already so didn't waste time queuing.

It remains to be seen what will happen in tomorrow.

I was particularly pleased that Titanic Plum Porter triumphed in the Specialty Beer Award. If you haven't  tried it, I would seriously recommend it. Fitzgeralds in Sunderland have it as a house beer.

Finally , mention of a North East beer that achieved bronze in the Bottled Beer section ; Mordue India Pale Ale..well done !

One more thing. On the bus in London from Kings Cross to Olympia two years ago I spotted actor Julian Rhind-Tutt walking along Oxford Street.  I mentioned it with great enthusiasm when I met up with everyone at the festival. " Who?" seemed to be the most common statement. 

"Well you know, he's been in loads of things" without actually having a clue what. If you are reading this Julian, I tried mate. Anyhow, to put you out of your misery, I last saw him on TV in that Aussie convict drama Banished. 

Click here for the final chapter :- GBBF 2015 Aftermath

A WINTER LAGER IN SUMMER

I recently bought a couple of bottles of Samuel Adams Winter Lager from a well known national discount store(being an anagram of M&B), for the princely sum of 79p each. They were selling them off before the September 2015 expiry date.

This lager is in fact a Bock. So what is a Bock ? Well this beer style originated in Bavaria in Germany and has a strong rich flavour. Under Bavarian law, a Bock style has to be at least 6.4%.

Having said that, Sam Adams is, as you know, an American brewer and this seasonal Winter  Lager is a mere 5.5. Dark amber , this drink really packs a punch. Half way down the glass you get the warm glow associated with a strong winter ale, only in August ! Its usually available in the autumn and is flavoured with orange peel, ginger and cinnamon. I will be looking out for this drink same time next year. 


Now the only other Bock style beer I recall drinking, well I recall opening the bottle anyway, was Eggenberg Samichlaus. Samichlaus means Santa Claus and it is brewed in Austria. This comes in at 14%, which I believe is the strongest beer I have ever had. Its called Santa Claus because it is brewed on St Nicholas Day ( December 6th) every year and stored for up to 10 months before being bottled and made available for the forthcoming Xmas celebrations. I got mine for my birthday some 8 years ago and the rest I'm afraid, is blank.