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We are a small and friendly local branch of CAMRA,
a national consumer organisation which campaigns on behalf of UK drinkers on subjects such as choice,
value for money, good beer and good pubs.
We have regular meetings in local pubs, plus a programme of social activities such as
visits to beer festivals and breweries. CAMRA members and prospective members are welcome
to attend our meetings and socials.
Details can be found here on the website, in the members' newspaper, 'What's Brewing',
or the branch newsletter, 'Iron Brew'; the latter is free and distributed to many
real ale pubs in our area on a quarterly basis and can be downloaded.
Axe The Tax & The Sustainable Communities Act
Please visit our Campaigning page and lobby your MP over the
increased beer tax in the budget and your local council to opt in to the Sustainable Communities Act.
Recent Events
2009 has seen plenty of well-attended events so far.
Rail & Ale
Barrow Hill Roundhouse at Staveley near Chesterfield hosted a well-organised event complete with a free shuttle
bus and a very good range of real ales, many from the surrounding area, plus cider & perry, fruit wines, and a great
selection of food.
The venue was excellent meaning that, even with the heavy showers, there was plenty of shelter to be had in the
roundhouse, plus outside tents not forgetting the steam train that ran trips along a short stretch of the line
for the duration of the day.
Mild in May
The branch supported CAMRA's 'Mild in May' campaign with a social event held at the Malt shovel, Ashby.
3 draft milds had been put on for the occasion with the landlord captured pulling one of these.
Doncaster Beerex
Doncaster CAMRA's 19th Beer Festival, held in the excellent venue of 'the Hub'at New Doncaster College,
was a very enjoyable event.
There was a good choice of cask ales, and, when these started to run out, we took full advantage of the
excellent selection bottled continental beers and lagers on offer (although our chairman failed to convince
any of us on the merits of the smoked beer!)
Should you be in any doubt as to how to enjoy a beer festival
some of our members kindly provided this step-by-step guide:
Spring Pub of the Season - The Bird in the Barley, Messingham
Winter and Spring Beer Festivals
The new year saw an abundance of beer festivals within easy reach of our area with branch members and friends
attending Derby, The National Winter ales Festival, Manchester and Oakwood Festival, Rotherham.
Derby Beer Festival 10th January
On a bitterly cold Saturday in January several of the Scunthorpe branch members set out via train to the
Derby "Not the Twelfth Night" Winter Ales beer festival held in the Assembly Rooms.
Instead if the usual "all beers displayed" setup , they had a limited number of ales for consumption at any one time,
only replacing a beer when one had run out. All beers were numbered 1-30 and you asked for the beer number
enabling the staff to find your beer very quickly! It also ensured there was plenty of choice at all parts of the day.
National Winter Ales Festival 2009
On Saturday 24th January we took a trip to Manchester arriving lunchtime met by long queue.
The layout had changed slightly from previous years, and although the festival was busy
it did seem to make for more space and ease of movement getting around and to the bars.
We sampled a splendid range or beers with the winter stouts and porters proving very popular with some of our members.
Beers were obviously selling out fast by the time we left around 6.00 with the organiser issuing an apology
after the event as almost 9000 had attended compared with 7000 the year before.
Oakwood Festival Rotherham
February saw us visit Rotherham Oakwood Real Ale and Music Festival on 19th February. The festival is very popular and we
were delighted to have enough interest from members for a Thursday evening to hire a minibus and experience the festival
and its vast range of beers on an evening reserved for CAMRA member and guest tickets only with its
full range of beers before the very busy sessions at the weekend.
The festival, held in a secondary school has a very interesting layout making use of the school hall and canteens,
a marquee on the yard and several classroom divided up according to area. After going our separate ways for most
of a very enjoyable evening we miraculously managed to meet up in the Lincolnshire bar at the end of the evening.
Pub of the Season Presentation - The Wheatsheaf,
Barton-upon-Humber,
There was a very good turnout from CAMRA members and regulars for the Pub of the Season presentation
on Saturday 7th February with photographers from the Scunthorpe Telegraph and Scoff Publishing ensuring
plenty of attention both inside and out.
Photograph copyright of Scoff Publishing.
A further article about the Wheatsheaf can be found at
Scoff Publishing
Click herefor previous events.
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