News

Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss the proposed Surrey/Hants Borders branch split.

Wed 19th May, 2010, 8pm, Farnham Conservative Club, GU9 7PQ

This EGM will be followed by a branch meeting.

CAMRA Launches LocAle the New Local Beer Accreditation to support Local Breweries and encourage Sustainability... continued

Surrey Hants Borders CAMRA branch, launched it's LocAle campaign at the Herbert Wells in Woking on 2nd March.  As part of the event certificates from Woking Beer Festival were presented by the beer festival organiser, Ian Johnson, to three local breweries, Ascot Ales, Dorking Brewery & Hogs Back Brewery (who arrived on their motor bike!)   Ascot Ales' Anastasia's Imperial Stout, won beer of the festival.

 

CAMRA Launches LocAle the New Local Beer Accreditation to support Local Breweries and encourage Sustainability

Surrey & Hampshire Borders (SHB) branch of CAMRA will be launching their LocAle initiative at Herbert Wells, Woking on Tuesday 2nd March with a presentation to three local breweries as part of the pubs’ LocAle Beer Festival.

LocAle is an initiative to support local pubs and clubs that stock beers from local breweries. This is following the successful trial of a LocAle scheme in Nottingham area since 2007.  The scheme builds on a growing consumer demand for quality local produce and an increased awareness of “green” issues.

To celebrate the launch of this scheme, and being recognised as one of the first pubs in our area to sign up, the Herbert Wells, Woking is holding a week-long festival of LocAle Ales, commencing on 1st March.  This will include about 25 different beers from the 12 breweries that are LocAle to Woking. On Tuesday 2nd March at 7.30 pm awards from Woking Beer Festival will be presented to three of our LocAle Breweries: Hogs Back, Ascot Ales and Dorking Brewery.  Representatives from each brewery are attending the presentation and will then be available to chat about their breweries and answer questions.

In addition, 8 other local pubs that are in the SHB area have currently joined up to the LocAle scheme and more are continuing to join. All these LocAle establishments will be celebrating the launch, and will be promoting local ales with the symbol of:

The pubs already signed up to the scheme as part of the launch are, whilst others are still being surveyed and are likley to join the inititive shortly.  Full details will be on the Surrey CAMRA Website http://www.camrasurrey.org.uk/

Claude Du Vall	Camberley
Golden Pot	Eversley
Herbert Wells	Woking
Jolly Farmer	Bramley
Merry Harriers	Hambledon
Prince of Wales	Farnborough
Row Barge	Guildford
White Hart	Tongham
White Lion	Aldershot

Gary Hollis, Manager of the Herbert Wells said “When Surrey Hampshire Borders CAMRA approached me, I was extremely happy to help them launch their LocAle campaign. I always have one and often quite a few Local ales on tap. I see LocAle as a very positive initiative supporting the local economy and local breweries."

Paul Cowper from Surrey Hants Borders CAMRA added, “Our Branch of CAMRA is pleased to introduce the LocAle scheme. We have some 50 breweries, eligible for at least one pub in our area, that brew a wide range of beer types and the LocAle scheme gives the pub goer a greater opportunity to sample these beers and at the same time they are helping to sustaining the local economy.”

Benefits of LocAle in our area are:

• Public Houses stocking local real ales
• Consumers can enjoy greater beer choice and diversity
• Local brewers gain from increased sales
• The local economy benefits from more money spent and retained locally
• The environment due to fewer “beer miles” resulting in less road congestion and pollution
• Tourism an increased sense of local identity and pride-lets celebrate what makes our locality different.

The LocAle scheme provides essential support for our community pubs and clubs whilst also promoting real ale as a selling point and giving these places the edge over supermarkets and off licences selling low-cost mass market largers.

For further details please contact:

Kevin Travers – SHB Branch Secretary
e mail: secretaryshb@camrasurrey.org.uk
Tel : 01252 – 697435 or 07870411330

Ian Johnson - SHB LocAle representative
e mail: ianjohnson15@o2.co.uk

SHB Pub Database

This includes the name, address, location (OS and lat/long) for all the pubs in the area. You can also enter suggestions for updates. The suggestions will be checked by our area reps before being included in the database.

There is an interactive map showing all the pubs: to display the pubs in a location select the nearest town, then the village.

Finally there is a copy of the branch diary, if your calendar program understands iCalendar files you can set it up to automatically download and include the content.

Click here to view the database.

 

 

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DATE:  18th August 2009

CAMRA LAUNCHES ‘LOCAL PUBS WEEK’ IN SURREY & HAMPSHIRE

CAMRA calls for everyone to visit their local pub IN Local Pubs Week
to help save the British pub industry!

Surrey Hampshire Borders CAMRA has today announced that we will be celebrating Local Pubs Week from 9th to 19th September 2009. We are calling for everyone to visit their local pub at least once during this week of action to give pubs a boost at this worrying time for the pub industry. 

Recent research has shown that a shocking 5 pubs close every day across Britain. CAMRA has launched this campaign to help reduce this worrying statistic by encouraging people of all ages and back grounds to use pubs and visit the pub more often that they currently do.

The Surrey Hampshire Borders Branch also hopes to use this week to raise the profile of pubs and the important role they play in community life.

Pubs throughout Surrey Hampshire Borders have signed up to the Local Pubs Week and a number of events and promotions have been organised throughout the week to entice more trade.

These include:

A mystery pub tour by minibus around pubs in the Alton area on 9th September

Launch of the 2010 CAMRA Good Beer Guide on Thursday 10th September at Varsity Bar, Guildford.  CAMRA will be celebrating the success of over 50 local pubs in securing an entry in the latest edition of the Good Beer Guide.

Celebration of local beers at local beer festivals.  Visits to 3 local beer festivals will take place over the weekend of 11th and 12th September.  They are being held at White Hart, Tongham, Blue Bell, Dockenfield and in Haslemere Town Hall.

A visit to pubs in the Camberley and Bagshot area on 15th September.

As part of our support of isolated rural pubs a meal and quiz will be held at Four Horseshoes on 17th September.

The week of celebrations will conclude on 19th September with a walk and cycle ride around pubs in the Yateley and Eversley area.  Two routes are planned, one for walkers and one for cyclists, both finishing at Dog & Partridge Yateley about 5 pm

Please visit www.camrasurrey.org.uk/sh-diary.html to see more details of the events planned for Local Pubs Week.

Phil Clark, Chairman of the Surrey Hampshire Borders Branch of CAMRA said, “It is staggering to see the number of pubs that are closing every day. It is time for the British public to ‘use them’ or ‘lose them’! Imagine if your local pub suddenly announced it was going close and it was to be knocked down. Once the pub has been demolished it will be lost forever.”

“We are lucky to have a unique pub industry that dates back hundreds of years. We don’t want to lose any more fantastic pubs so please spend some time in Local Pubs Week to visit some of the pubs in the Surrey Hampshire Borders and show your support for this campaign.”

To read more on CAMRA’s national campaign to save and support local pubs please visit www.camra.org.uk/localpubsweek

For more information:
Phil Clark                                                      1 Cygnet Court, Old Cove Road, Fleet GU51 2RL
Tel:     01252 672507 (h)
0795 209589 (m)
e mail: chairmanshb@camrasurrey.org.uk

Kevin Travers                                               108, Rectory Road, Farnborough, GU14 7HT
Tel:     01252 697435 (h)
07870 411 330 (m)
e mail: secretaryshb@camrasurrey.org.uk

 

Click image for a larger view.

Reopened pub promises real ales

The Rowbarge in Guildford has bucked the trend of closing pubs and opened its doors to customers for the first time since March last year.

New landlords Mark and Chrissie East said residents have responded well since the pub at Riverside, Bellfields, started trading just before Christmas.

“We’ve had lots of support from the locals and they seem really pleased that the pub’s back,” Mr East said.

“It’s just been redecorated fully by me and my wife and everything’s been redone from one corner to the next.

“The pub’s location is what attracted me most. It’s right on the river and is a nice place to have a pint.”

When The Rowbarge was boarded up last year, neighbours complained it had not fulfilled its potential but Mr East is determined to make it a success.

He said he plans to place greater emphasis on its real ale range.

“I do enjoy my real ales, so we well be doing an awful lot of local beers,” he said. “I get my beer from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) so all the ales come from within a 40 mile radius of the pub.”

Mr East also plans to stage a real ale festival, a vintage boat show and series of other family-orientated events throughout the year. “I’m very positive about the future,” he said. “It’s not going to be an easy road for probably the next year but if we can get through the next three or four months of panic, I think people will settle down a little bit. “Hopefully the weather will come good, will have a nice summer and a good time on the river.”

Kevin Travers, of the Surrey and Hampshire Borders branch of Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) said: “It’s good that someone’s trying to make a pub successful in difficult times.

 

Source: Kevin Travers
May 2009