The Tin Shed, Formby

The Tin Shed in Formby village

It's always good to hear about a new pub, so I was pleased to learn that a new micropub, the Tin Shed, had opened in Formby a couple of months ago. My old school friend Roland and I hadn't met since several months before the first lockdown, so we chose this for our first pint together for a long time.

It is in a former shop on Brows Lane in Formby village. It is pleasantly decorated with woodchip and wood planks on one wall, perhaps to suit the name 'shed', and with some outdoor seating to the front. We were made very welcome by Jack who runs the pub, and we found there was generally a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.Thirst things first: there are four handpumps with a changing range of real ales. When we called in, the choice was Wily Fox Dublin' Up Stout, Black Lodge Pale Ale, Wily Fox Citra Golden, and an unfined Blonde ale. Roland and I tried them all and we were happy to find they were well looked after and enjoyable.

Other drinks included Shed Head and Poretti lagers, Fiery Fox 6.5% cider and Somersby keg cider. Also available are gluten-free and alcohol-free options, plus spirits, wines and coffee. You can buy two large wines and a cheesebox for £20, but otherwise there's no food other than snacks such as crisps; however, you can take your own food in as long as you're buying the beer.

Your canine pal is welcome, there is free WiFi, and there is a TV which was on for the sport for part of our visit, but after a while was switched off.

All in all, Roland and I had a great afternoon catching up over some good beers in a great bar that is definitely a welcome addition to the Formby real ale scene.

The Tin Shed is at 60 Brows Lane, Formby, L37 4ED, less than ten minutes' walk from Formby Station and near the main bus routes. Their phone number is 01704 808220 and they are on Facebook and Instagram. Opening times are 2pm to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 2pm to 9pm on Sunday.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

The Beer Den in Crossens

The recently-opened Beer Den in Crossens

Great news: Southport has a new real ale micropub! The second branch of the Beer Den opened in Crossens in northern Southport on Wednesday 19^th May. By 4.00 p.m., there was already a queue of thirsty customers waiting for the doors to open. This is hardly surprising, seeing that Crossens has been a beer desert since the Plough was demolished.

Converted from a shop, the single roomed bar is attractively decorated with a wood panel effect up to waist level and the bar in the far corner. Rick Parker and Debbie were on hand to welcome everyone through the door, and very soon there was a happy buzz of conversation among the many customers who turned out.

Both branches of the Beer Den (the first is nearer the town centre on Duke Street) are run by the Parker Brewery based in Banks. There were three handpumps serving two Parker beers, Saxon Red Ale and Viking Blonde, and a guest beer from Bury's Deeply Vale Brewery, Optimum Best Bitter. Our group found all the real ales to be in excellent condition.

Goose Eye Midway Session IPA, Lowenbrau and Camden Hells Lager were available on tap, and other drinks included the usual spirits, with some specialist gins, wine and a choice of bottled beers in the fridge.

It is good to see a micropub open in a residential area not previously served by any pubs and bars at all. Drinkers in Crossens have previously had to travel to Marshside, Churchtown or even the town centre for a sociable drink and a chat outside the home with friends and family - or even people you don't yet know, as happened to me on opening day.

The Beer Den is at 125 Rufford Road in Crossens; opening hours are:

Monday: Closed

Tues-Thurs: 4-10pm

Fri & Sat: 2-10pm

Sunday: 2-9pm

You can find it on Facebook and the brewery's website is here. If you get hungry after a few drinks, there is a takeaway next door.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

CAMRA - coping manfully with the 20th century

From Viz magazine: I have occasionally heard
such sentiments - supposedly made in jest.

In my capacity as press officer of CAMRA's Southport & West Lancs branch, I sometimes use national CAMRA press releases in my articles in the local papers, and one thing that increasingly irritates me about them is the description of Nik Antona as the campaign's national 'chairman'. This term was even used when two women, the late Paula Waters and Jackie Parker, held the post.

I have belonged to a number of organisations, campaigns and political parties over the years and CAMRA is the only one that still uses such old-fashioned terminology. When I became a union rep in 1984, my union had scrapped gender-specific terms years earlier and - believe it or not - the world didn't implode. There are three main reasons why I feel that change is long overdue:

• Use of terms such as 'chairman' reinforces the stereotype of CAMRA as a lads' drinking club rather than a campaign to represent all real ale drinkers, an image problem that has discouraged some people, mostly but not exclusively women, from joining. Such a stereotype also has the effect of diminishing any influence we may hope to have. Viz magazine had a cartoon strip that mercilessly took the mickey out of real ale drinkers, and if we're being honest, we real ale drinkers have all met people who resembled the Viz caricatures.
• Gender-specific terms are on the decline in general, with terms such as police officer, fire fighter and seafarer increasingly becoming the norm. There are women in the acting profession who prefer the term 'actors' to 'actresses'. Some gender-specific terms have become completely obsolete, such as baxter for a female baker and brewster for a female brewer; I have seen one or two beer writers pretentiously, but pointlessly, using the latter term, but they really are swimming against the tide.
• Whether you agree or not, it is a fact that some people find such terminology irritating, or worse. For a mass membership organisation, discouraging potential supporters by using outdated language really is an own goal, one that is both wholly unnecessary and very easy to prevent. 

One argument that I've heard deployed against change is, "I'm not a piece of furniture!" This is, frankly, quite silly. The term 'chair' when used as the title of the person presiding over a meeting is being used symbolically, not literally. Other examples are:

• The use of the term 'the crown' in reference to our head of state: as far as I know, the queen has never been heard to say, "I'm not a piece of jewelry". 
• The Crown Prosecution Service will take you to court in the queen's name and not on behalf of an expensive trinket, and the Netflix series 'The Crown' is not a multipart documentary about royal jewelry.
• Magistrates are routinely referred to as 'the bench', and yet you don't hear them complain, "I'm not a piece of furniture!"

Dea Latis is an organisation committed to "bringing beer to women". While I welcome this organisation and its aims, surely this is something CAMRA should have been doing; I think we missed a trick here and our image is part of the problem.

A genuine commitment to equality and diversity has to include the language we employ. Clinging on to outdated terms simply reinforces stereotypical attitudes, especially among our detractors. We are foolish to give them ammunition, while at the same time discouraging people who might otherwise support us.

In CAMRA's 50th anniversary year, surely it's about time the organisation took a decisive step forward into the 1980s.

CAMRA Southport & West Lancs awards 2020

The Southport & West Lancs branch of CAMRA will shortly be presenting its branch awards to local pubs, bars and clubs. These awards are decided by the votes of ordinary CAMRA members who have visited all the finalists. Because the branch covers two quite dissimilar areas, Southport and Formby on the one hand and West Lancs on the other, there are two sets of awards. This year the winners include a traditional pub, two micropubs, a modern pub and a cricket club. 

West Lancs
• Pub of the Year is Tap Room No 12 (formerly the Hop Inn Bier Shoppe) at 12 Burscough Steet in Ormskirk. Formerly a shop, it was converted into a single-roomed bar, and the wooden panels and genuine pub furniture successfully recreate the atmosphere of a traditional pub room. There's a choice of real ale, as you'd expect, but they can also sell you 20+ gins as well as craft and continental beers.
• Cider Pub of the Year is the Court Leet on Wheatsheaf Walk, just off Burscough Street in Ormskirk. This JD Wetherspoons pub is much more modern than the customary house style of the pub group with large windows and a bright and airy interior. The pub is on two levels with an open air balcony on the first floor overlooking the Ormskirk skyline.

North Merseyside
• Pub of the Year is the Guest House, Union Street, Southport. The impressive exterior is half timbered, and inside the walls are wood-panelled. It is mostly unaltered with three separate rooms, a drinking area around the bar and an outdoor drinking area to the rear. It regularly sells up to 11 real ales.
• Cider Pub of the Year is the Grasshopper, Sandon Road, Hillside. In addition to a good selection of real ales, this two-roomed micropub has the widest choice of ciders in the area. There are tables to the front where you can sit and enjoy the sunshine – when we get any.

Club of the Year
Formby Golf Club in Cricket Path, Formby. This club has recently been celebrating the return to playing cricket after the lockdown. With a comfortable club house serving real ale, what better way to enjoy what has been described as the King of Sports? 

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

Locked down beer in pub cellars

Two locked down pubs in Churchtown, Southport.
The Bold (left) and the Hesketh (in the distance)

The order to close pubs, like many other businesses, was not unexpected, but the actual date came at very short notice. As a consequence, pub licensees had little chance to run down their stocks by reducing the size of their orders in the run-up to closure, meaning that the cellars of many pubs and bars have large quantities of unused beer, cider and perry. It is estimated that if they stay closed into the summer, 50 million pints will have to be discarded.

"It's a very sad waste of all the work and talent that goes into producing great beer," says Tom Stainer, CAMRA's chief executive. "People won't get to drink it and all those resources have been used up for nothing."

The shelf life of beers, ciders and perries depends on how it's produced, stored and served. Keg products, which include most beer sold in British pubs such as lagers, smoothflow beers (including a famous Irish stout) and ciders on fonts, can last for several months. Real ales and ciders, on the other hand, will only last for weeks, with any that have been already opened going off after a few days. All real ales, ciders and perries that had been opened at lockdown will probably have already been disposed of.

One suggestion is converting out-of-date beer into hand sanitiser by extracting the alcohol, which independent brewer Brewdog is already doing, but this is ultimately a very limited solution.

According to the BBC, supermarket alcohol sales increased by more than a fifth last month after pubs, cafes and restaurants closed.

"People are missing these things in their lives," says Tom Stainer. "It's not the biggest issue that the country is dealing with, but aspects of life like going to the cinema or café, or going for a pint, are something we treasure." 

Many breweries and distributors have offered to take back barrels at no charge once the lockdown is over, taking some of the financial pressure off licensees. However, more can be done, as Tom Stainer, explains:

“The Government needs to recognise the impact of an extended lockdown on [hospitality] businesses and confirm that the support package in place is extended until all restrictions are lifted. It must also consider a support package for pubs, breweries and cideries after they reopen, in recognition that it will take many months for businesses to recover fully.”

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser.

Keg Buster RIP

Bill Tidy has announced in the latest edition of the CAMRA newspaper What's Brewing the sad demise of the legendary real ale campaigner, Keg Buster. This news is not very surprising, seeing that Bill himself is 84 and in poor health. Over the years he has created several wonderful long-running cartoon strips in addition to Keg Buster, such as The Cloggies and The Fosdyke Saga.

In the 1980s, Bill Tidy was a neighbour of ours in Westbourne Road, Southport. He was a regular at the Berkeley Arms, a hotel bar well-known for a fine choice of real ales and home-made pizzas; my friends and I spent a lot of time there. I occasionally saw Bill with his friends in the bar, although I never had the opportunity to speak to him. Bill drew a cartoon about the Berkeley which was framed and proudly displayed on the wall. I can't recall after all this time what the joke was, and this was in the days before we all had a mobile phone camera in our pockets. Unfortunately the Berkeley closed well over a decade ago when the building was converted to flats; I have occasionally wondered what happened to the cartoon.

By affectionately mocking us real ale campaigners, Keg Buster was a welcome corrective to the tendency to solemn self-importance and pomposity that some committed advocates for any cause can occasionally be prone to. I don't know whether there are any plans to replace Keg Buster, but if there are, the cartoonist concerned has a hard act to follow.

RIP Keg Buster, and best wishes to Bill on his retirement.

From November 2017. Click on the cartoon to see a larger image.

The Four Ashes micropub, Waterloo

The Four Ashes in Waterloo

The Four Ashes is a micropub in Waterloo which opened just three years ago. It is on a street corner, close to the Plaza Cinema, and has just one room with the bar on the far side as you enter. The surroundings are comfortable and the atmosphere relaxed. Rob Ashe welcomed me, remembering me from a previous visit, even though I had been there only twice before. It is run by four members of the same family, hence the name.

The choice of real ale changes and the five being served when I visited were: Coniston Special Oatmeal Stout; Bank Top Bad To The Bone Best Bitter; Stodfold Amarillo American Pale; Cwrw iâl Pocket Rocket; and Lancaster Mosaic Blonde Ale. The real ales always include a dark beer and a bitter. A real cider, Happy Daze Medium, was available, and other drinks included continental bottled beers, craft beer, premium vodkas and gins, wine (including prosecco and cava), plus alcohol-free and gluten-free beers. Tea, coffee, soft drinks and bar snacks are also served.

To encourage conversation, it has no music or large-screen sports - there is also no Wi-Fi, presumably for a similar reason - and this all works: I found myself chatting to several regulars at the bar. Board games are provided and there is a monthly quiz, the next being on Thursday 19th March.

Children and dogs are welcomed, and the pub has featured in the local paper for having raised nearly £7000 for CHICS, a local children's cancer support charity based at Alder Hey, a great reflection of the generosity of its customers.

It is one of five finalists in the CAMRA Liverpool & Districts 2020 Pub of the Year competition, the only pub outside of the city centre and the only micropub, which is a remarkable achievement.

The Four Ashes is a fine addition to what is already a good real ale scene in Waterloo, an area blessed with quite a few pubs and bars all within a short walk of each other. It is at 23 Crosby Road North, Waterloo, on several major bus routes and close to Waterloo railway station. It is closed on Monday, and you can check its other opening hours on its Facebook page.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

The Philharmonic: a Grade I Listed Pub

Liverpool's Philharmonic Dining Rooms

I paid a visit to the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Liverpool, last week. This pub has just been upgraded to Grade I listing, making it the first purpose-built, Victorian public house to receive such a listing, the highest level for a historic building. It now joins the top 2.5% of protected historic buildings in England, such as Buckingham Palace, Chatsworth House and Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

Sometimes referred to as a 'cathedral among pubs’, the Philharmonic is one of the most spectacular pubs from the late 19th century, considered the golden age of pub building. Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “English pubs are some of our best-loved community buildings and are often threatened with closure ... We are proud that the Liverpool Philharmonic pub, a remarkable survival from the Victorian era, has been given a Grade I listing which will help maintain and preserve its outstanding interior fittings and exterior fabric for the future.”

A stained glass window in the Liszt room

The pub has several separate rooms: the main bar, a public bar, two side rooms (named with Scouse wit as Brahms and Liszt), and a rear dining room. The gents are famously made of Victorian marble, and I expect this is the only pub in the country where women regularly visit the gents. Indeed, I was chatting to two couples from Gloucestershire who were in Liverpool on holiday, and the two women insisted on visiting them. They were also taking photos of the stained glass windows, the elaborately carved woodwork, the detailed ceilings and the mosaic floor and bar front. Everywhere you look is something interesting.

This includes the ten real ales on handpump: St Austell Nicholson's Pale (the house beer), Adnam's Mosaic Pale, Fuller's London Pride, Farm Brewery Jarl, Titanic Plum Porter, St Austell Proper Job, Black Sheep Bitter, Exmoor Fox, Wainwright and Doom Bar. I didn't try all ten, but those I did have were well-kept. There are also extensive gin and whisky ranges, a choice of wines and craft beers.

The menu is quite extensive and includes starters, a pie menu, choice of main dishes, salads, burgers, sandwiches and desserts.

When John Lennon was asked about the downside of fame, he replied that it was not being able to go to the Phil for a pint. This magnificent pub is on Hope Street, close to the famous Philharmonic Hall, and is an easy train ride from the Southport and West Lancs areas.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

Women and pubs

Two discriminating women drinkers at the GBBF
Photocredit: Tom Leishman

This year sees a couple of important anniversaries. Firstly, this month is the 50th anniversary of the UK's first Women's Liberation conference which was held at Ruskin College. Secondly, it is 45 years since the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) became law. I believe these two events are connected.

The SDA had a profound effect on pubgoing, enabling changes that still resonate today. It would seem strange to a younger generation of drinkers that there were pubs that excluded female customers (but not always female staff), either from the entire building or from particular rooms.

A famous example was the Hole In The Wall, Hackins Hey, Liverpool. This pub claims to be the oldest in the city, dating from the eighteenth century, and it has an old-fashioned charm as well as good beer, but until the SDA, women were barred entirely. Even after the Act became law, they were slow to provide toilets for women who had to go to the neighbouring Saddle Inn. A CAMRA local beer guide at the time wrily described the pub as “coping manfully with the Sex Discrimination Act”.

More locally, the very fine Guest House on Union Street in Southport had one room restricted to men. The door to the room on the right was permanently shut with a sign saying, “Gentlemen only”. Out of curiosity, I entered the pub shortly after the SDA became law: the sign had been removed and the door wedged open. I don't recall seeing it shut since.

Although this is all now history, it's a fact that even today some women feel wary of going into a pub on their own, and are much less likely than men to do so. Any who do might take something, such as a book to read, to suggest that they have a specific reason for being there – and are not seeking male attention. In a way, it is a pity that such worries still exist 45 years after the SDA became law.

However, things are changing for the better with groups of women more inclined to patronise pubs than formerly and with many pubs becoming more family friendly. While this is not entirely popular with some traditionally-minded beer drinkers, CAMRA as an organisation welcomes the increasing inclusiveness of our pubs and bars.

I am conscious of the incongruity that I'm a male writing this.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

Peter Walker - a personal reflection

The Crown, Lime Street, Liverpool

I was a student at Padgate College in Warrington in the 1970s. The area at that time had three breweries: Burtonwood, Greenall and Tetley, although you wouldn't have known it because the vast majority of pubs were Greenall's. The brewery's adverts told us to, "Smile please, you're in Greenall Whitley land". They produced funny beer mats and even 'GWL' car stickers, like the 'GB' plate you use when driving abroad. I sometimes used to wonder whether they had ever caused any confusion at border checks on the continent. If only they had put as much effort into the beer as they did into the hype because, at best, Greenall's beers were mediocre.

I don't recall any Burtonwood pubs in the town, and most of the few non-Greenall pubs were Tetley. Tetley's beers were better than Greenall's but not by a great margin. Tetley had merged with Peter Walker in 1960, and in the 70s, they were still brewing the old Walker's Bitter, although they sold it under the Tetley name, which I found slightly odd seeing that most beer drinkers I knew preferred the Walker's Bitter to the Tetley's. The local CAMRA branch produced stickers for the few pubs that still sold Walker's to put in their windows, something my friends and I found very useful.

I had a sort of family connection to Walker's because my maternal grandmother had worked in Walker pubs for many years, as did her son, my Uncle Bernard. He rose to be manager of several pubs, and I can remember visiting two as a child, the Sefton Arms in Croxteth and the Victoria in Bootle. My grandmother used to be his relief manager on his day off. I remember calling into the Victoria for a pint a couple of times when I was older and working in Bootle; he was rightly proud of the quality of his beers. In later years, knowing about my involvement with CAMRA, he was pleased when I told him that he had kept an excellent pint.

At some point in the 1980s, Tetley Walker decided to relaunch the Walker brand. Some Tetley pubs were re-badged as Walker's and new beers formulated. In the process they scrapped the old Walker's recipe, which had been around 3.5%, like many beers at the time, and replaced it with Best Bitter (3.5%), Bitter (3.3%), and an even weaker mild. The beers weren't bad but I preferred the old brew. Later added to the range was a stronger Warrington Ale and a Winter Warmer, both of which I did quite like.

The 3.3% strength of the new Walker's Bitter became something of a joke in Liverpool:
Policeman: "Excuse me sir, have you been drinking?"
Driver: "Yes, officer, Walker's Bitter."
Policeman: "Very good, sir, carry on."

Walker's beers are no more, possibly disappearing around the time of the 1989 Beer Orders, but the name can still be seen on quite a few pubs in Merseyside, as shown in the photographs which I took in Liverpool yesterday.

The Vines, Lime Street, Liverpool

P.S. Since I posted this less than an hour ago, it has correctly been pointed out to me that someone is brewing a smoothflow version of Walker's Bitter, although I've no idea who or where. When saying that Walker's beers were long gone, I was thinking of the Warrington-brewed beers. Anything else would be a poor facsimile just to cash in on the name.

Ralph's Wife's bar, Banks

Ralph's Wife's bar in Banks

A friend told me about a new bar that had opened about five months ago in Banks, Ralph's Wife's, that I hadn't heard about before, so I decided to pay a visit.

The bus (Stagecoach 2 or X2) takes around 25 minutes from Lord Street, Southport, and drops you just yards away. The building was originally a bank, the logo of which is still in one window, after which it became the Village Pantry. It is just across the road from the New Fleetwood pub.

I arrived just as it had opened, and saw that it had two handpumps, one of which was serving Parker Barbarian Bitter, the other not being in use at the time. As I entered, Mal, the owner, said “You look like a real ale type”, which surprised me slightly as I don't have beard and wasn't wearing sandals! I found the beer to be on good form.

He explained that they usually had two real ales on at weekends, but sometimes during the week it needed to drop to one while custom builds up. He is aiming to have three ales available in time. Previous real ales have included: Neptune Ezili; Neptune Lorelei; Southport Golden Sands; Red Star Formby IPA; Parker Golden Samurai; and Parker Viking Blonde.

Two fonts were dispensing Hop House Lager and Guinness, and there was a fridge full of various bottles, including, Belgium, Trappist and German beers. There was a good choice of wines and the usual spirits, but with one interesting addition: among the gin selection was Forgan's, a hand-crafted gin made in Banks.

Tea and coffee are also served, including a range of speciality teas. They have held tapas nights and cheese and wine events. Children are welcome until 8.00 p.m. and dogs are admitted. There is free WiFi for customers, and he intends to offer snacks soon. One interesting feature is that the original night safe from its days as a bank is still in use.

As other customers came in, I found them to be friendly and ended up chatting to several at the bar. It is pleasantly decorated and has a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.

Ralph's Wife's bar is at 4 Hoole Lane, Banks, Lancashire PR9 8BD; tel: 01704 214678. See their Facebook page for more information, including opening hours.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

Stags, Hens and Christmas

Quite a few years ago when I was a regional union rep, I sometimes attended meetings in Leeds. 

After one meeting, I saw in the office a large group of women, reps and union staff, all dressed up in St Trinian's-style outfits. Curious, I asked what was going on and was told it was a hen night. I congratulated the bride-to-be who – to my surprise - asked me if I'd like to join them. I did and it was certainly a lively night, but thankfully I didn't have to adopt the dress code!

While some stags and hens like to jet off to foreign parts, partying at home is still a popular way of celebrating the end of single status; indeed the economic downturn has meant a drop in stags and hens celebrating abroad. Four of the top ten favourite locations for stag and hen parties are in the UK: London (11%); Brighton (6%); Liverpool (5%); and Edinburgh (4%). Such events do sometimes get a bad press, but most are usually well-behaved and can provide a welcome boost to a pub's business.

Christmas is also often an occasion for pub crawls. While most drinkers have their own favourite drinking haunts, it can be very agreeable to try a few different places with a group of like-minded friends. For beer drinkers in particular, this may provide an opportunity to try brews they don't normally come across.

Probably the worst way to organise a crawl is to meet with no plan; this can cause arguments about where to go next. It's much better to decide in advance where you're going. If your group is large, it helps to choose places where you can all get in without filling up the place. Packing out a small pub can annoy the regulars, and on one crawl in Liverpool I happened to be last and simply couldn't get in. I don't think it was planned that way!

For real ale drinkers, planning a crawl is easy nowadays with CAMRA's What Pub website. Simply type in a place name or postcode and it will tell you all the real ale pubs in the area.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

The Buck I'Th' Vine, Ormskirk

Click on photo for larger image

An appointment had taken me to Ormskirk, and afterwards I decided to visit the Buck I'Th' Vine which reopened three months ago, having closed closed in 2014. The closure saddened many people, particularly as the Buck, as it's now officially known, dates from the 17th century when it was known as the Roebuck. The appearance of the pub is very distinctive with the Grade II listed buildings on two sides of a cobbled courtyard to the front where you can sit when the weather permits.

The layout has been reconfigured with the bar moved to another room; formerly it was behind a multi-paned window, which is still there, as are quite a few other original features. Its new position is in front on an old fireplace, and it is longer and more practical than the old one. There are five drinking areas with a separate Spitroast restaurant to the rear. It has real fires, although probably not behind the bar!

There three real ales on: Hobgoblin Gold, Wainwright, and Jennings Sneck Lifter, with Brakspear lined up to go on next. I tried all three beers and found they were in good form. Among the fonts was Shipyard American Pale Ale, and there was good selection of spirits, especially gin.

The Spitroast restaurant to the rear is a more modern affair, and is the third in the chain, the others being in Crosby and Liverpool. The menu looked interesting, but I didn't try anything as I wasn't hungry, and this is not a restaurant review. A glass panel in the restaurant floor gives a glimpse of the old cobbles of the market town. Spitroast website.

The pub has recently become the home venue for a team in the quiz league, and on Sunday afternoons entertainment is provided by a singer-guitarist. Children and dogs are welcome. After quite a long chat with the manager, Sue, I feel this fine old inn is in good hands.

The Buck is at 35 Burscough Street, Ormskirk L39 2EG, close to Ormskirk's famous clock tower. Events are advertised on their Facebook page.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

The Excelsior, Liverpool

The Excelsior, Liverpool

Strolling around in Liverpool on Tuesday last week, I decided to call into the Excelsior on Dale Street, a pub I haven't visited for some time. It was named after a sailing ship, a reminder of Liverpool's long maritime history. This is a tastefully decorated, traditional pub with three separate drinking areas, old fireplaces, and attractive wooden rails, bar, plate racks and doorways. Pictures of old Liverpool adorn the walls.

The choice of real changes but these are the six that were on when I visited: Salopian Oracle, Salopian Lemon Dream,, Salopian Shropshire Gold, Peerless Galaxian, Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Brain's Rev. James. I was told this last beer is particularly popular with Everton fans! The three beers I tried were all in good form, as you'd expect from a Cask Marque accredited pub. There is 30p off all real ales every Monday.

Other drinks include a choice of 21 gins, six different bottled craft beers a wine menu that includes fizz and coffee. They advertise pub food until the early evening with pies, mash, pasta and paninis – there is even a pie menu. They show live sports on three screens that can be tuned to show different sporting events at the same time, and there is live music every Friday.

I found the pub friendly and ended chatting to a young woman who was visiting Liverpool from London; she was actually Polish, although I would never have guessed from her English accent. I also had a talk with the enthusiastic licensee.

They have free WiFi, and you can find out what's happening there on their Facebook page. The address is 121-123 Dale Street, Liverpool 2, just five minutes' walk from Moorfields Station on the Merseyrail Nothern Line.

While you're in that part of Liverpool, there are quite a few other pubs all less than 10 minutes' walk from Moorfields. The Hole In The Wall, Thomas Rigby's, the Lady of Mann, the Vernon, the Ship & Mitre and the Lion Tavern can, along the Excelsior, constitute a satisfying compact pub tour.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

CAMRA and gender terminology

• E-mail from me to CAMRA:

I welcome CAMRA's involvement in the Women In Beer festival. However, shouldn't we put our own house in order? Isn't it time to ditch old-fashioned, gender-specific terms such as 'chairman', and use gender-neutral terms such as chair, chairperson or even president?

• Reply: 
Thank you for getting in touch. We have suggested the terms get reviewed, but it is down to the individual who holds that seat to decide what they'd like to be called - when Jackie Parker was Chairman, her preference was to be called Chairman rather than Chair!

I will forward on again the feedback though, as we have had leadership changes in the last year who may feel differently.

• My response:
I don't see it as a matter for personal choice because the terms must be prescribed in some kind of constitution, which probably needs amending. It is possible that Jackie Parker used 'chairman' because that was the official term.

Nowadays gender-specific terms such as 'chairman' make CAMRA look like an old-fashioned boys' club, rather than the inclusive campaign it would claim to be. Terms such as 'firefighters', 'seafarers', 'police officers' and 'actors' (for both genders) are increasingly becoming the norm.

The usual response from those who oppose gender-neutral terminology is something along the lines of "The position is not a piece of furniture". That is immature nonsense: the queen is often referred to as 'the crown' (e.g. the Crown Prosecution Service), but she is not a piece of jewellery, 'black rod' refers to a parliamentary officer, not a stick, and 'the bench' refers to three magistrates, not a long seat. My trade union has had gender-neutral terms since at least the 1970s, long before I joined, and - amazingly - the sky hasn't fallen in.

As the branch press officer, I write a weekly CAMRA column in two local papers. If I use a national CAMRA press release, I always replace 'chairman' with 'chair'. No one in the branch has complained.

This really shouldn't be an issue in the 21st century. However, I appreciate the fact that you will pass on my feedback: would you include this e-mail as well? Thanks.

The Vestry Tap Room, Tarleton

The Vestry Tap Room in Tarleton

I first learnt about the Vestry Tap Room after they had contacted the local CAMRA branch. It has been open for around six months.

I caught the 2 Stagecoach bus on Lord Street and about 40 minutes later was dropped off right opposite the pub. It was empty when I arrived except for Lisa behind the bar, although it did fill up later. Lisa was very helpful and patient as she answered all my various questions.

The main room is light with wooden walls to waist height and wooden furniture, including bench seating along the walls. There is also a comfortable room upstairs with easy chairs, and an outdoor drinking area to the rear of the building.

Lisa behind the bar at the Vestry

Three hand pumps were serving Avid Brewing Co. American Pale, Hawkshead Windermere Pale and Brewsmith Bitter. These beers are always changing and those due on next were from Polly's Brew Co., Tiny Rebel, Siren Craft Co. and Squawk Brewery. A real cider, Lilley's Rhubarb Cider, is also available. On Sundays, the real ales are reduced by 25% between noon and 4.00 pm. All three real ales were in good condition.

There are also lagers and craft beers, including a rhubarb milkshake pale called Rhubarbra Streisand! Other drinks offered include a large gin selection, canned craft beers and bottles of BrewDog Punk IPA.

On Tuesdays at 8.00 pm, a speed quiz is held, and Lisa had to explain to me what that actually was! Live music is presented once or twice a month between 5.00 and 9.00 pm on Sundays – next time is 29 September - and occasionally free cheese boards are offered, also on Sunday. Live sports are sometimes shown. 

On Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October they are putting on an Oktoberfest with an oompah brass band, imported German beer, gins, authentic German street food, live music and a DJ in a large marquee. It is a ticket-only do, and there aren't many left so if you're interested phone 01772 301976 to check.

The premises are not suitable for under-18s, but dogs are admitted. They have free WiFi, and are on Facebook where you can check the opening hours which do vary through the week. You'll find it at 109 Church Rd, Tarleton, Lancashire PR4 6UP.

► This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

Real ale 'isn't dear enough' and it's all our fault!

The root of all evil? The Sir Henry
Segrave, a Wetherspoons in Southport

A couple of months ago I picked up the summer issue of Ale Cry, the magazine of the CAMRA Central Lancs Branch. It's an interesting mag, and its layout and presentation are much better than a few years ago when, although the articles were okay, it looked like a badly-produced college rag mag. One article grabbed my attention, 'The Price Of Your Pint Revisited', written by the editor Adrian Smith - you can read the article concerned here (on page 22).

The general thrust of the article is that we drinkers are reluctant to pay what he considers a fair price for real ale with the consequence that real ale may be "dumbed down" to save costs, or discontinued altogether. He makes some international comparisons, but comparing our beer prices with those in other countries is of little value unless you also compare average incomes, taxation levels, duty, and indeed all the many other factors that affect what we British drinkers pay.

He also has some scathing words for Wetherspoons and the vouchers that they give to CAMRA members, describing this membership benefit as CAMRA encouraging members to visit JDW pubs at the expense of traditional pubs, even though it is actually funded by Wetherspoons, not CAMRA. The value of the vouchers, £20 per year, equates to 39p per CAMRA member per week, not an amount, I would suggest, that would drive traditional pubs to close, especially as 99.7% of the UK population are not CAMRA members.

Many organisations have benefits for members provided by outside businesses; indeed, some of the membership benefits I am entitled to claim, in addition to those via CAMRA, come through my trade union, the National Trust, my railcard, my car breakdown service and even my folk club. Furthermore, there are 17 other companies that offer perks to CAMRA members, some of them in the beer and hospitality industries - but there's not a word in Ale Cry bemoaning any of those. Besides, there is absolutely nothing to stop any other pubco making similar offers.

At this point I wondered whether I was beginning to detect the anti-Wetherspoons snobbery that, regrettably, some CAMRA members are prone to, a perception reinforced by a statement in the Ale Cry article that, "Real ale on sale at £2.09 a pint is frankly ridiculous". Why? Wetherspoons are making a profit, so if they can afford to sell beer at such a price, why shouldn't they? Perhaps it's the perception of the clientele that Wetherspoons' prices are said to attract: people on benefits, parents with screaming brats running wild and pensioners drooling into their cheap meals, all of which shameful slanders - and more - I have read too many times (although not in the Ale Cry article). I consider such generalisations about Wetherspoons clientele both inaccurate and disrespectful.

CAMRA says that avoiding isolation by going to the pub is a good thing, but without Wetherspoons, many people on low incomes could rarely, if ever, afford to go out for a pint; they would certainly have no chance of paying the price for real ale that Adrian Smith thinks they should.

I've written before about the price of beer, most recently in June 2018 here. One point I have made several times is that in 1972, a pint of bitter here in the north west was around 13p or 14p. Using the Bank of England inflation calculator, I learned that 14p back then is equivalent to £1.82 in 2018. In recent years, and especially since 2010, ordinary people's incomes have definitely not increased correspondingly. In real terms, beer is nowadays markedly dearer while many people's incomes are lower. It's logical to assume this is a significant reason why drinkers are reluctant to pay more for real ale, but the Ale Cry article makes no mention if it.

A list of factors affecting pub usage, the level of beer prices in pubs and what people can afford would include (in no particular order):

• Beer taxes that over the years have risen by more than the rate of inflation, and which are among the highest in Europe.
• Excessive business rates (which, incidentally, are set by Whitehall, not councils).
• Pub companies overcharging their tenants for rent, supplies (including all drinks) and building maintenance.
• Rising costs for brewers (e.g. raw materials) and pubs (e.g. utility bills).
• Falling beer sales overall.
• Changes in drinking habits, with many young people preferring go to bars and clubs rather than traditional pubs.
• More choices of places to drink, such as bars, restaurants, hotels and clubs.
• Cheap drink in supermarkets.
• Sophisticated home entertainment systems.
• Austerity, leaving people with less cash and either unemployed or worried they might be.
• The increase in insecure employment, zero hours contracts, and minimum wage jobs.
• The smoking ban.

In the face of all this, it seems perverse and facile to criticise the drinker, and I am surprised that the editor of a drinkers' campaigning magazine does so. I did e-mail him a couple of months ago making some of these points but received no reply.

► For information, the Wetherspoons voucher scheme is currently being replaced.

The Captain Alexander, Liverpool

The Captain Alexander

My friend Ann and I decided to try the new Wetherspoons pub on James Street in Liverpool, the Captain Alexander, named after Alexander Allan, founder of the Allan shipping line which used to have offices in the city. It is across the road from James Street station in the ground floor of a former office block. It has one large room panelled with light wood and was very busy when we were there.

The clientele was mixed and included office workers on their lunch break, some families and an unexpectedly quiet hen party, although to be fair it was still early in the day. It's clearly popular even though it has been open for less than three months. The pub has an outdoor terrace on the first floor, which was filled with drinkers enjoying the sunshine. The pub is accessible and, unlike some Wetherspoons, has toilets on the ground floor.

There was a good range of real ales, including some I wasn't familiar with (yes, there are a few) and included: Greene King Abbott; Big Bog Swampy Bitter; Purple Moose Dark Side of the Moose; Yazoo Hop Perfect IPA; St Peters Plum Porter; Big Bog Blonde Bach; Twilighter Fresh Yorkshire IPA; and Lancaster Black. Ruddles Best Bitter is usually on but had run out. The beers I tried were on good form and Ann enjoyed her Shiraz.

The outdoor terrace

The keg range includes BrewDog Punk IPA and Shipyard American IPA. It has a good choice of bottled beers, all the wines and spirits that you'd expect and a gin menu called “The Little Book of Gin” which lists more than fifty gins from the UK and around the world. The usual Wetherspoons food was on offer and we both enjoyed our meals: a mixed grill for Ann and a skinny chicken burger for me.

The Captain Alexander is less than half a mile from Moorfields railway station, and is close to the shops, the Mersey ferries, the Pier Head and the Three Graces. It's a worthy addition to a city centre that is already well-endowed with great pubs.

This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.

The Wayfarer, Parbold brewpub

CAMRA has published a list of the top ten brewpubs across the country, and the nearest to us is the Wayfarer on Alder Lane, Parbold, Lancs WN8 7NL. Problem Child has been brewing on-site at the pub since 2013 and produces a wide range of fine beers. The Wayfarer is also known for its food, and it will be the subject of a full post in future. After a 20-minute railway journey from Southport, the pub is less than ten minutes' walk from Parbold Station. The opening hours are restricted so best check before travelling. Website.

Ben Wilkinson, CAMRA’s National Director said: "Brewpubs provide a fantastic experience not just for the beer connoisseur, but for anyone interested in learning more about how their favourite drink is produced. They act as the showroom to our nation’s breweries and provide a highly sustainable option with the beer travelling a grand total of zero miles from where it’s produced. In addition, like all pubs, they play a pivotal role in bringing communities together."

The full list of brewpubs is here.

The Victoria – Southport Promenade

The Victoria, Southport Promenade

The Victoria is a large, prominent pub on the Promenade in Southport close to the Marine Way Bridge. It tends to have a mixed clientele: local residents, theatre-goers, conference delegates and visitors to the town. I have sometimes enjoyed a pint after a show in the nearby Southport Theatre or while sitting on its fine beer garden to the front on a sunny day. Inside it is a large pub with separate drinking areas, one of which to the rear has a pool table. There is also a dart board, and I noticed that the Ladies Darts Team has been particularly successful recently.

This is a Thwaites house, and the two real ales that were on when I visited were Original Bitter and Gold, a pale citrus beer. As I've had the bitter many times previously, I tried the Gold and found it pleasant and in good condition. A third handpump had an Old Rosie Cider pumpclip but this had run out at the time. I also noticed that they have an extensive gin bar as well as a good range of all the usual bar drinks.

The food menu has a wide choice of pub favourites, and I saw signs advertising Sunday lunches, chippy teas at £7.95 and a children's menu. Overall there are very positive reviews of the food on Tripadvisor.

Music is popular here with karaoke every Friday and Saturday, while every Sunday there is live music in the afternoon followed by a disco karaoke in the evening. Live sports are shown on HD television, particularly Premier League matches and golf. The pub is family-friendly, which includes your dog as long as it is kept on a lead. Perhaps a good place to relax after taking your canine friend for a walk along the Prom. This is clearly a pub with a broad range of activities to cater for different tastes.

Contact details: 01704 544121 and Facebook. Website: victoriasouthport.co.uk.

► Linda, team leader in the Willow Grove, Lord Street, Southport, was obviously very pleased to tell me that the pub has been awarded Cask Marque accreditation. This is an independently-assessed measure of beer quality, so well done to all concerned.

This is one of a series of articles that I write for the CAMRA column in our local papers, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser. Older articles on local pubs are here.