Darlington Drinker 171

Darlington Drinker 171

Newsletter of the Darlington Campaign for Real Ale - Autumn 2008

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Real Ale - the Beer with Bite

BEER SALES as a whole may be on the slide but interest in traditional British beer - real ale - continues to grow.

That’s the conclusion of Roger Protz, the editor of the 36th edition of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. So much so the newly-published Guide calculates that Britain now has more small craft breweries per head of population than any other country in the world: the Guide’s brewery listings section includes details of no fewer than 550 micros.

Roger Protz says the global brewers can scoff and claim they spill more beer than the totality of small beers make. But that’s not the point. Size is not everything and quality is now in the ascendancy. In 2007 sales of Stella Artois, Britain’s biggest selling premium lager, fell by 10% while the average increase in sales for members of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, was 11%.

And he says the beer revolution is about more than just sales. “CAMRA and SIBA have created an interest in beer. Real ale is now about more than mild and bitter. There are a profusion of old and new styles: golden ales, harvest ales, old ales, true IPAs, porters and stouts.”

In June the Campaign for Real Ale membership reached 92,000 - nearly triple what it was a decade or so ago. Roger forecasts it will reach the milestone of 100,000 during the lifetime of the 2009 Guide - making CAMRA the biggest single-issue consumer movement in the world. The continued growth of the Campaign stands as testimony to the fact that an increasing number of pub-goers prefer craft-brewed beers made with wholesome barley malt and whole hops.

“They reject the bland offerings of global brewers who pack their computer-controlled vessels with rice, maize, hop oils and other cheap ingredients.”

The 2009 Edition of the Good Beer Guide is now available featuring more than 4,500 recommended pubs. Available from bookshops at £14.99 or direct from CAMRA.

Hunt on Again for a Raby Owner

THE FUTURE of the historic Raby Hunt Inn is once more in the balance - six years after being saved from closure by the protests of villagers and CAMRA members.

After a lengthy bout of poor health and having to employ staff to do duties she would normally carry out, landlady Pam Askey decided she can no longer continue at the idyllically-located Summerhouse pub. She left in August.

Pam thanked her regulars for their support in the three years she ran the Raby. She bought the grade II listed pub - which has traded since 1856 - after it had been shrunk in size and constrained by housing development on its garden and car park in out-buildings and even in its one-time lounge. In a notice pinned up in the bar, Pam had explained: “A prolonged period of ill health has made difficult times worse and the business unviable. Unless a buyer can be found I regret that the pub will close”.

A legal agreement with Darlington Borough Council prevents the change of the pub to any other use. This was attached to the 2003 planning permission which allowed the value of much of the original plot to be stripped out by the previous owners through the creation of four new dwellings.

The sooner a new owner can be found for this superb old local the better. Any takers?

Darlington Drinker

.…Twenty-Five Years Ago

“TWO dramatic takeovers in the brewing industry are underway. The sell-out of Theakstons to Matthew Browns is being fought by some board members, including Michael Theakston. These want the company to remain independent of other brewers but the ‘rebels’ control only a minority of shares so Browns are favourites to come out on top.

The Camerons change of ownership has been less well publicised but could give rise to even greater concern. Their parent group, Ellerman Lines, has been bought by publicity-shy twins David and Frederick Barclay.”

Darlington Drinker 18, October 1983

Champion

THE CHAMPION Beer of Britain 2008, judged by a panel of brewers, beer writers and journalists at the Great British Beer Festival, is Alton’s Pride from the Triple fff brewery in Hampshire.

The 3.8% bitter is a golden brown beer, described in the Good Beer Guide as “Full-bodied for its strength with an aroma of floral hops. An initial malty flavour fades as citrus notes and hoppiness take over, leading to a hoppy, bitter finish”. It was chosen from over 60 finalists in seven categories - best bitters, bitters, golden ales, milds, speciality, winter beer and strong bitters. Triple fff opened in 1997 with a five barrel plant and has just moved into a new 50-barrel brewhouse.

The silver medal went to Black Dog Freddy, a mild from Beckstones brewery of Millom, Cumbria.

Medal Catcher

A BEER FIRST brewed in a cottage kitchen near Darlington has won its second medal in four years at Britain’s real ale ‘Olympics’.

Rivet Catcher, from Jarrow Brewery, took bronze in its category - probably the most competitive style of all, bitters - at the 2008 Champion Beer of Britain competition at London’s Earls Court. The award complements the silver gong it gained in 2006.

Jarrow Brewery was founded by Jess and Alison McConnell at their Robin Hood pub in 2002 and they were understandably overjoyed with the latest news. Credit must also go to the original creator of the refreshing 4% golden brew, Darlington CAMRA committee member Pete Fenwick. One of Pete’s roles is to choose the line-up for the branch’s twice-yearly beer festivals at Darlington Arts Centre.

Pete explains the origins of Rivet Catcher. “I asked if Jarrow could brew a ‘special’ for the 2003 Rhythm ‘n’ Brews festival. I’m a member of the Darlington Traditional Brewing Group and Jess suggested that I first make a brew of what we wanted using his yeast. I did in our kitchen at home in Aldbrough St John and took him a bottle to try and he liked it. I first called it Halcyon Daze after the malt I used. The name was changed to Fenwick’s Special at the festival.”

Jess confirmed: “We had to tweak Pete’s recipe and that was really just because we were dealing with different quantities.” In keeping with the shipbuilding traditions of Jarrow, the name was changed to Rivet Catcher when it went on wider sale.

Since then the beer and brewery have gone from strength to strength. Some 720 gallons of Rivet Catcher are now produced every week and the brewing kit at the Robin Hood ceased being able to meet all the demand for Jarrow ales some time ago. Brewing spread to Jess and Alison’s second pub, the Maltings in South Shields in 2006 expanding the company’s capacity to 100 barrels a week. Jess says that despite the economic downturn cask beer sales are buoyant: “Real ale is bucking the trend and helping pubs survive the credit crunch. Lager sales are down and young people are switching to real ales.”

Club to Cling On

IT’S BEEN a bitter-sweet time for the members and staff of Darlington Snooker Club.

One moment they were celebrating the news that their friendly, four-ale club had been named North East club of the year by the Campaign for Real Ale - for a remarkable fifth time in five years. The next, proprietor Peter Everett heard that planning permission had been granted for the building’s freehold owner, Derek White, to turn the historic first floor club into flats.

Mr White had appealed against a decision by Darlington council to refuse his application to create four flats in the purpose-built hall which dates from 1915. A government inspector has now overturned the ruling and granted approval. That despite vociferous support from the local community - including the head of nearby Corporation Road school, some of whose pupils take snooker lessons there.

Peter leases the first floor from Mr White, who runs White Bros motorbike shop on the ground floor of the premises at the corner of Northgate and Corporation Road opposite the Odeon cinema. All at the club were crestfallen on hearing the decision, but Peter - who is also current chairman of Darlington CAMRA - is refusing to wilt.

“We will not give up hope”, he says. “We have been looking at moving to other premises but the rents are too high. In any case finding a replacement for ten full-size snooker tables plus a bar and a lounge is not easy. There are lots of flats in Darlington - many of them empty - but only one purpose-built billiards or snooker hall.”

One major crumb of comfort is that club’s present lease does not expire until Christmas 2009, and Peter says defiantly it will stay open “all day, every day” until then.

A Yard of Brews

A NEW micro-brewery has got into its stride just twelve miles to the north of Darlington.

Alan and Susan Hogg’s Yard of Ale Brew Co. Ltd was officially launched in June. The 2½ barrel (90 gallons) plant is located appropriately enough in the back yard of their cask ale freehouse - the Surtees Arms at Ferryhill Station.

The first brew was First Yard, a 3.8% abv copper-coloured session ale, with what Alan describes as “a delicate roasted flavour and very slight hop aroma”. It sold out in a matter of days. It was followed in August by One Foot in the Yard, a golden 4.5%-strength ale made using crystal and pale malts and target and cascade hops. Alan says: “If you like a beer with a fruity, robust character then this is for you”.

The equipment was supplied and installed by the specialists Moss Brew of Blackburn who also provide consultancy advice. Alan took a three-day start-up brewing course at Brewlab in Sunderland - “they are very thorough and very professional” - and visited a number of breweries in the region before getting underway.

Alan and Susan bought the pub as recently as February 2007 and have beaten their target of getting in-house brewing up and running within two years. Alan explained their rationale to Alastair Gilmour of the Journal: “You hear so much about the credit crunch and supermarkets having a negative impact on beer sales but you’ve got to have a go at it yourself, diversify if you need to and take it into a different marketplace. I firmly believe you have to go out and find people, not just wait for the worst to happen. The brewery is already a big part of the pub business.”

A SECOND new, pub-based micro got underway in the region during the summer, in the cellar of the Cleveland Hotel in Coatham, Redcar.

The Redscar Brewery is the brainchild of landlord Chris Appleby. Coincidentally, it too has a 2½ barrel kit installed by Moss Brew. Named after the rocks - or scars - which are a feature of the seaside town, it produces Redscar Rocks, a 4.5% bitter and Redscar Sands, a 4.2% pale ale. “I’ve seen a number of pubs close in the local area and I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” said Mr Appleby.

Alls Change

LANDLORD JOHN Stroud of Ovington has erected a fresh version of the distinctive pub sign at the uncommonly-titled Four Alls inn.

Keen observers will spot a subtle change as the artist who painted the new sign has re-ordered the ‘alls’ into the more usual sequence. John says the old sign was badly faded. Besides, Queen Victoria was disturbingly unamused, even for her…

More than at most pubs, a sign is needed to explain the name. It depicts four figures: the monarch governs all, a preacher prays for all, a soldier fights for all - and the poor old farmer pays for all. Although rare, the name is not unique to Teesdale’s ‘maypole village’. Others are found from Penzance to Higham, Lancs, and from Welford-on-Avon to Market Drayton.

Other pubs bear the variation Five Alls, featuring a lawyer who pleads for all. Yet others replace one off the characters with the devil who ‘takes all’. The name seems to have been popular since at least the 18th century.

PROFITS AT the JD Wetherspoon group - operator of Darlington’s Tanners Hall and William Stead - fell by 11% in the past year. The 700-strong pub chain is now putting a growing emphasis on food and sales crept back up to 1.1% per cent growth in the five weeks to the end of August.

“The declines on the bar are starting to come back,” explained chief executive John Hutson. “But it is about people visiting the pub for a meal rather than just a drink”. The smoking ban, rising commodity prices and the biggest hike in beer duty in 10 years, are certainly taking their toll on the pub trade. By the end of 2007, pubs were closing at a rate of four a day according to the British Beer and Pub Association.

An association spokesman said: “The smoking ban affected the traditional street-corner pub in towns first as they were less able to offer food or an attractive smoking area. But that has now fed across the country and we will soon be seeing villages without any pub at all.”

Richmond Tales

ALASTAIR MCMILLAN picked up a copy of Darlington Drinker 170 in Richmond, while on holiday from Scotland. Our article on real ale pubs in Oban made him think how Richmond might be described in an article. So he wrote one.

“I HAD LOOKED forward to a holiday week in Richmond, investigating real ales and different pubs. The local newspaper had just announced the return of brewing to Richmond, which seemed an auspicious start. Apparently there used to be 35 hostelries. Over the week I realised there were now 14, seven in the Market Place and seven close by. Of those in the Market Place, I found five which advertised cask or real ale as available. Unfortunately the presence of signs and handpumps did not mean real ale was actually served. The Golden Lion had two pumps, one off and one serving Jennings Snecklifter. This was the best the square could offer.

Better fare from the pubs outside the Market Place, where only one did not serve real ale. Five had only one pump dispensing either Black Sheep or Theakstons, not a surprise given the closeness to Masham. The most real ale available was at the Ralph Fitzrandal, a Wetherspoon pub with lots of Yorkshire beers - it was having a festival.

I realise that small pubs and hotels cannot compete with Wetherspoon for quantity and price but they should at least be able to serve up real ale when they advertise it and have handpumps. Let me therefore praise the five pubs outside the Market Place that offered ale. The Turf Hotel has a large outside area, a bar with sports memorabilia and a pleasant lounge serving food.

Up Finkle Street is the Black Lion with a large bar area which also does food. On from here is the Unicorn, with one bar but different seating areas. It was packed even on a wet Sunday afternoon. Following the road along, the hardest to find because it is hidden behind trees is the Buck. A small lounge but a large comfortable bar area with large TV screen to watch England verses South Africa. It also offers food and has an outside area. Worth searching out up Frenchgate is the friendly Ship.

Where did I have my last drink? I went for Richmond Station Ale, from the just-started Richmond Station Brewery, at the Ralph Fitzrandal. This deserves to appear in more Richmond pubs.”

 RICHMOND IS within the area of the North West Yorkshire branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. We invited committee member Vince Rutland to respond to Alastair.

“YES, SADLY that's the situation in Richmond, despite our best efforts as a branch. We do try there - there’s a beer festival each October (see below) which goes down great but most of the pubs just aren’t interested.

The Golden Lion has been OK, as has the Ship, while the Unicorn is about the most reliable. A short walk across the river and up the hill is the Holly Hill Inn, which serves cask beer. One of the problems is the turnover of licensees and others who just don’t seem to be interested. It’s also close to Catterick Garrison, where real ale faces a tough battle to interest the squaddies. Fortunately, not far from Richmond are countless country pubs, which offer a wonderful choice of good ales. We will keep trying though”.

7th Richmond Ale Festival

FRIDAY TO SUNDAY, 17-19 October. Swaledale’s biggest range of real ale, in the traditional Victorian Market Hall in the shadow of Richmond’s medieval castle. About 30 real ales plus ciders. Free admission. Traditional pub games, breweriana tombola, live music Friday and Saturday nights from 8.30pm. Open Fri 5-11pm, Sat 4.30-11pm, Sun 11.45am to 4pm (refreshment for Richmond 10k runners!).

A short bus journey from Darlington: Fri/Sat eves hourly (service 27), last bus back 10.24pm; Sun (X26/X27) half hourly. Details: (01609) 780536 or camra_nwyorks@yahoo.co.uk.

Guide Updates

DID YOU GET IT?

Thousands did. The 2008 edition of Darlington CAMRA’S comprehensive guide to Real Ale in and around Darlington & Teesdale, that is.

Published in June, alongside DD170. Thirty-two pages detailing the 120 pubs, clubs, hotels, restaurants and off-licences in our area that sell traditional British beer. Well, you’ll want to keep it up to date. So listed below are changes/corrections that’ve come to our attention.

Tell us if you hear of any changes in the availability of cask beer in the area: it might save somebody a journey, or make their day. Contact details are at the bottom of the page, click here to see contact details. If you don’t have a copy (and can’t spot one on the bar alongside this DD) worry not - we’ve got just a few of the 5,000 print run left. Contact us by clicking here.

Additional Real Ale Outlets:

DARLINGTON (Town Centre):

The Slaters Arms, 46 Bondgate, DL3 7JJ. Occasionally stocks real John Smith’s Magnet.

Deletions:

COUNTY DURHAM:

Spotted Dog, High Coniscliffe: Has stopped selling real ale.

Carlbury Arms, Piercebridge: Temporarily closed *

Raby Hunt, Summerhouse: Closed and future uncertain.

NORTH YORKSHIRE:

Lord Nelson, Appleton Wiske: Has stopped selling real ale.

Bay Horse, Great Smeaton: Temporarily closed *

TEESDALE:

Rose & Crown, Mickleton: Temporarily closed *

Updates:

NORTH YORKSHIRE: 

Stanwick Inn, Aldbrough St John: Opening hours are now 12-2 Sat; 6-11 Mon-Sat; 12-8.30 Sun.

TEESDALE: 

Strathmore Arms, Holwick: Now closes Mon & Tues.

(*Temporarily closed pubs are those we believe the owning company is seeking a new tenant for. They could reopen at any time: ring them or us to check.)

Beer World: Australia

DAVID HILL has been to the far side of the world to see if that sixth-rate Olympic nation gives a XXXX for decent beer. He was pleasantly surprised...

RESEARCH FOR our trip to the Gold Coast in Queensland did not produce any breweries in the area. A few years ago there had been one in Surfers Paradise but the equipment has relocated a couple of times since then.

So we were surprised to see bottles of beer called ‘Duke Real Fresh Beer’ in a surf club. Following a telephone call we found that the beer was produced on the Gold Coast by the Burleigh Brewing Co., in a new industrial unit close to Burleigh Heads, one of the prime surfing locations in Australia.

We visited the brewery during a tropical thunderstorm, so we have no shots of the outside of the building !. Their beers are not pasteurised and are mainly sold on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, north and south of Brisbane. Three are produced: a 3.5% lager, a 4.8% European-style premium lager and a 4.8% pale ale.

The pale ale was similar to the original White Shield Worthington. During our visit the company secretary - or according to her business card ‘project juggler’ - put details of the brewery on the BeerMe website. It has its own site at www.burleighbrewing.com. I understand Duke is the name of the father of modern surfing. We came across Duke beers in bottle in a number of surf clubs. They were being drunk in favour of the usual variety of XXXX beers.

Bottle shops (no alcohol is sold in supermarkets) have a good selection of beers. An excellent one we came across was Mountain Goat Pale Ale (4.5%) from a micro in Melbourne (www.goatbeer.com.au). It was bottled-conditioned and described as “bottled but not tamed”. Unfortunately it needed a little more taming as there was too much condition in the bottle.

Others were an IPA from Gage Roads in Western Australia and Little Creatures IPA from Fremantle.

Coopers Original Pale Ale (4.5%) is sold on draught in many bars and surf clubs. It does not appear to be pasteurised as it is often slightly cloudy. Coopers produce all their beers as bottle-conditioned, including Original, Sparkling - a 7.5% vintage ale - and my favourite, Best Extra Stout (6.3%).

Was it Wet in Whitby ?

SUE AND Terry have organised a coach trip to Whitby for many years from the Britannia in August. This year it was different: due to high demand two buses were needed.

It had rained again on the Saturday night and Sunday early but the windscreen wipers were turned off halfway through the journey. Ten minutes from the destination we became enveloped in fog and couldn’t see more than 50 yards, but luckily that lifted and we could see the sea. Seagulls greeted us noisily and one made a well-aimed deposit - Sheila was lucky all day...

Our first trip was the Resolution Hotel for 11 o’clock coffee. That was luck: a cafeteria and two cups for only £1.50; tasty too. This was where I first saw some beards, sandals and rucksacks. Yes, more luck - it was the second day of the Whitby Folk Festival.

We climbed West Cliff to the leisure centre, which was hosting a music and craft fair - some culture to start. The sun was over the yardarm now so we descended to the Pier Inn and were assured by Sue, who was sunning herself outside, that the Rev. James was kept well inside, which proved correct. We had to stay for two.

No real ale at the Ship or the Star but we found the Jolly Sailors where the Old Brewery Bitter went down well as £1.38 a pint. We found the dining room on the first floor, overlooking the harbour, and enjoyed roast beef and people-watching for an hour. We were recommended a trip on the Bark Endeavour, a ‘tall ship’, built to scale to Captain Cook’s original vessel, which took him to the South Seas. We went round the bay only - just £2.50 for OAPs.

More culture in the afternoon watching morris and clog dancing, which made us thirsty. So seats in the yard of the Black Horse - Rhatas from Black Dog and Beartown Kodiak Gold (£2.95 and £2.90 mind you) - and sunshine again ended our visit.

Back in Darlo we were greeted by the customary Britannia big buffet. Many thanks to Sue and Terry.

Malcolm and Sheila Dunstone

Ale Mail

MONKS AND ale, the connections are well known and belong to a past, revived this year in Richmond. Here the town is celebrating the 750th anniversary of the foundation of the Franciscan friary in the town. Though now a ruin it continues as a vibrant part of the town. Opposite it is the Wetherspoon’s pub The Ralph Fitz Randal, Ralph being the founder of the friary all those years ago and is thus worthily commemorated. His heart is, reputedly, still buried in the chancel.

In memory of the friars, a specialist real ale has been commissioned by Wetherspoon’s and produced by Mordue of Wallsend. It is a pale, flavoursome and refreshing 3.8% session bitter and is available until October when the anniversary celebrations conclude.

Wetherspoon’s interest and sponsorship in the event plays a key part and I would like to thank the management and staff for their generosity of spirit.

TONY PELTON, Event Coordinator, Catterick, North Yorks (website www.richmond.org)

I HAVE been asked to co-ordinate Darlington CAMRA branch’s Community Pubs Week next February. I should like to ask readers to contact me with nominations of community pubs, with brief reasons why they should be shortlisted. I can then organise a band of volunteers to visit the pubs and take it a stage further. Please tell me if you are prepared to be a volunteer.

MALCOLM DUNSTONE, 59 Victoria Embankment, Darlington DL1 5JS; (01325) 362462 or contact me via email.

Black Sheep Quiz

BELOW ARE this month’s Black Sheep Quiz questions. The sender of the first correct answer drawn out of the hat on 3rd November will win our latest quality Black Sheep T-shirt, courtesy of the Masham brewery.

Send your entry to DD Black Sheep Quiz, 6 Clareville Road, Darlington DL3 8NG or dd @idnet.com. Remember to include your name, address and shirt size. No size, no prize!

1, What long-established pub guide has just been published?

2, How many pubs are featured in it?

3, Who publishes it?

JOANNE ORMSTON of Newton le Willows, Bedale won the DD170 quiz: Black Sheep’s brewery building was last used as a grainstore; in the early 20th century it was home to Lightfoot’s brewery; and Masham has the largest Market Square in Yorkshire.

Ale Entrepreneur

TOM HICK of Allendale Brewery in Northumberland has been shortlisted for the Young Rural Entrepreneur of 2008 award.

Tom, 28, set up the brewery in 2006 with his father Jim. It now supplies more than 100 pubs across the region as well as beer festivals. Tom studied zoology at university but decided the subject was “too much like being at school” to follow as a career. Preferring to make things, he opted instead to take an MSc in brewing at Sunderland University’s Brewlab and set up in business with his dad in the rural north Pennines.

“I love what I do”, Tom said. “It keeps me very busy - there are always new, exciting things happening. I enjoyed home brewing and drinking real ales. I thought what an ideal opportunity micro-brewing was. “It’s an incredible thing to be chosen as one of the five best young entrepreneurs in the country,” he continued. “I put a lot of effort in and care a lot about what I do, so when a beer gets an award, or I’m shortlisted for an award like this, it does make me proud.”

Allendale’s ales include Curlew’s Return and Black Grouse Bitter, reflecting both Tom’s zoological interests and the brewery’s home area. Tom and Jim recently acquired their first tied house, the Crown in the nearby village of Catton. It had been closed for eight years.

BREWS, NEWS AND VIEWS

THE COBBLERS HALL in Newton Aycliffe is an increasingly bright beacon of real ale in the town. The modern suburban local in Burnhill Way was built in 2004 by the Marston’s brewery group. It was already selling one real ale when current manager Mark Charlton arrived in April but since then, Mark tells us, “The transformation has been remarkable. The pub has been refurbished and real ale sales have rocketed. We are now up to three real ales all of the time, and run a weekly guest ale from Marston’s on rotation with our stock beers. Real ale has been at the centre of what we are trying to do with the pub.”

DARLINGTON CAMRA DIARY DATES  

   Fri 4 Oct : Rural coach crawl: Sadberge/Hurworth area. Dep Feethams 7pm, bookings: Pete Fenwick (01325) 374817; (07792) 093245.

 Wed 8 Oct : Darlington CAMRA Branch Meeting: Foresters, Coatham Mundeville, 8pm. Bus departs Feethams 7.30pm. Bookings via Pete as above.

Tue 14 Oct : CAMRA North East Regional Meeting: Tap & Spile, Framwellgate Moor, Durham, 8pm. All welcome.

 Sat 25 Oct : CAMRA Branches Games Evening: Darlington Cricket Club, Feethams South, 7pm.

   Fri 7 Nov : Rural coach crawl : Bishopton/Preston-le-Skerne area. Dep Feethams, 7pm. Bookings via Pete as above.

Tue 11 Nov : Darlington CAMRA Branch Meeting: Darlington Snooker Club, 1 Corporation Road, 8pm.

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Darlington Drinker is published every two or three months by the Darlington branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Circulation 3,500. News, articles and letters welcome. All items © Darlington CAMRA but may be reproduced if source acknowledged. Editor: Brendan Boyle, 6 Clareville Road, Darlington DL3 8NG; (01325) 362092; email dd@idnet.com. Additional contributors this issue: Malcolm & Sheila Dunstone, Pete Fenwick, David Hill, Fred Lawton. To advertise, contact Fred Lawton: email Lawtonfred@aol.com; (07710) 493514. Rates a snip at quarter-page £30, half page £50, full page £80; sixth consecutive insertion free. Branch website: www.darlocamra.org.uk. CAMRA HQ is at 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts AL1 4LW; (01727) 867201; see www.camra.org.uk for all other real ale information.