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Manchester Food & Drink Festival puts on a royal banquet despite funding cut

A feast of delights will be served up this weekend and next week in Manchester, despite the city’s Food & Drink Festival falling victim to budget cuts. Under pressure to reduce its budget, Manchester City Council removed core funding from the festival.

However, with the help of commercial sponsors, the organisers are promising ‘the most exciting non-stop food fiesta we’ve ever created’. Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is making the journey north to perform a live cookery demonstration.

North West talent will also be on show in the form of a Local Producers’ Market. Manchester Market stallholders will offer everything from paella and chorizo to mango kormas and fine fudges. Meanwhile, a chocolate village will include the ‘world’s first Bean to bar Chocolate Factory’.

King Henry VIII, portrayed by Mark Addy’s executive chef Robert Owen Brown, will lead ‘A Feast Fit for a King’. The guests at a secret location will be treated to a menu of 16th century dishes including venison, grouse, pheasant, partridge and peacock. All to be royally washed down with wines, porters, ciders and mead.

Away from the regal gathering there will be a chance to sample fine German beers at the Oktoberfest. The Big Indie Wine Fest excludes retail giants and gives independent wine merchants the chance to shine. Mercury Music Prize winners Elbow will launch their new beer, created in collaboration with Stockport based Robinsons brewers. ‘Build a Rocket Boys’ is an 4% abv beer inspired by the bands recent album.

The festival, the fourteenth to be held, will conclude with a Gala Dinner & Awards at the Lowry Hotel.

Manchester Food & Drink Festival takes place between 7th and 17th October. For more information click on www.foodanddrinkfestival.com

Fresh start for Cumbrian pub after community investment

Community-power and a co-operative investment scheme have brought a village pub back to life.

The Butcher’s Arms had been closed for almost a year but reopened its doors on Saturday 27th August 2011 after £300,000 was raised to buy it.

The pub, which is in Crosby Ravensworth, has been bought by around 300 people who invested a minimum of £250 each. In addition, the “save our local” campaign was given a kick-start by the community fund created by the Co-operative group Enterprise Hub scheme.

In addition to the financial investment, volunteers have also invested their own time and labour. They completed tasks such as gardening, plumbing, building, decorating and electrical and carpentry work.

Cameron Smith, treasurer of the new community co-operative, told The Guardian that shareholders had come from all corners of the UK to invest and take their stake in The Butcher’s Arms.

New landlords Keith Taylor and Bev Percy told the BBC that they’d been amazed by the dedication and efforts of the community and volunteers, which has given them an excellent position to start from.

http://www.lyvennetcommunitypub.com

Low alcohol ‘People’s Pint’ will strengthen pubs says CAMRA

Beer lovers will benefit from the government's decision to reduce excise duty on lower ABV beers, argue the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

CAMRA is raising a glass to the decision to introduce a 50% excise duty reduction on beers at or below 2.8% ABV, from October 2011.

The campaign group says that a by-product of the change will be the creation of the ‘People’s Pint’. They estimate that punters who opt for the ‘People’s Pint’ could save 50p compared to what they would pay for the average 4% ABV bitter.

Mike Benner, CAMRA’s Chief Executive said: “CAMRA believes the introduction of a low strength beer option in pubs could be a great selling point for all licensees looking to offer diversity and choice to their customers, as well as making it easier to regulate their drinking.”

Mr Benner adds that the ‘People’s Pint’ has the advantage of containing fewer calories, whilst not compromising on flavour.

Just before this month’s Great British Beer Festival, CAMRA conducted a taste test and found that a panel of ‘experienced drinkers’ were not able to differentiate between low and mid strength real ale.

CAMRA is also calling for the EU Excise Directives to be amended so that beers up to 3.5% ABV could benefit from a reduced rate of duty. Nineteen different British real ales at the Great British Beer Festival had an ABV at or below 3.5%.

Pubs help artist to stay inn business

A sign artist is currently making a name for himself, despite the challenging times for the pub trade.

Andrew Grundon has received national press coverage this week. He set up his own business Signature Signs, after working for St Austell Brewery, Cornwall.

Andrew says: “Making a living in art is incredibly difficult, so when a friend told me that St Austell Brewery's signwriter was retiring I applied for the job. On the strength of my pictures I was hired, as a fair bit of pub work is the pictorials.”

His commissions range from reproducing heraldic design to having free reign to interpret a pub name, subject to approval

Should anyone doubt his love of the work, he adds: “I hope to keep painting signs until they carry me feet first from my purpose built workshop at home in the wilds of Bodmin Moor, and prize the brush from my cold and lifeless fingers.”

If he decides to enter, one of Andrew’s works might end up winning the ‘Sign of the Year Award’. The Inn Sign Society (ISS) describes its mission as being to provide a national forum for persons interested in the variety of inn signs and researching the origin of pub names.

The society’s website lists some popular British pub names and the history behind them.

The Red Lion became a common name after James 1st decreed that all public buildings must display a heraldic red lion in a prominent place.

The King’s Head became a widespread name as a result of the reformation. Henry VIII’s breakaway fro the Church of Rome meant that the Pope’s Head suddenly became a risky name to attach to a pub.

The White Hart owes its origins both to a King and also to Greek mythology. The White Hart was the heraldic symbol of boy-king Richard II. The white hart (a male deer or stag) is portrayed with a golden chain or collar around his neck. This refers to the legend that Diomedes consecrated a white hart to Diana and placed a gold collar around its neck.

The Royal Oak, in contrast, refers to the tree behind which Charles II is believed to have hidden behind after his escape, following defeat in the Battle of Worcester, 1651.

The ISS notes that protocol dictates that reigning monarchs do not tend to be portrayed on inn signs.

Not all pub names are inspired by royalty. The ISS points out that The Railway, perhaps predictably, became a widespread name during the thirsty work required to construct the national track network.

The Bell combines both religion and ale. Many religious establishments brewed church ales to boost funds. The site notes that both the pub and church could be said to provide sustenance in times of spiritual need.

The Inn Society has already received over 50 entries to its 'Sign of the Year' competition which closes on 14 October. Entries can be submitted by anyone. The pub must still be in business when the ISS members do their judging.

http://www.innsignsociety.com

http://www.signaturesignsuk.com

Greene King adds virtual dimension to real ale trails

Real ale lovers, pub-history fans and keen walkers can now use an interactive map to follow a London route and to claim a free t-shirt with Greene King’s launch of the on-line version of its Ale Trails.

The digital version of the Ale Trail plots the historic pubs within Google maps and shows the routes that link them.

The site, created with digital management agency Snowball, includes information about the venues. The trail-routes pass other significant and interesting sites around the capital.

The Ale Trails include City & Spitalfields, Southwark and the City, Westminster & Soho and Kensington and Marylebone.

Richard Woodger is manager of the Old Tea Warehouse, included in the City and Spitalfields trail. He has been heavily involved in developing the online trails.

Mr Woodger said: “With the development of the new website we hope that many more people will discover the trails and the great pubs on them.”

Other featured pubs include Whitechapel’s New Moon which was used in films ranging from Tomb Raider to James Bond and Harry Potter.

The George Inn, Southwark, frequented by Charles Dickens, is also included. The author mentioned it in ‘Little Dorrit’.

To obtain the free t-shirt participants must get six stamps from the relevant pubs.

Greene King is hoping to expand the digital Ale Trails to other cities, starting with Bath.

Mr Woodger added: “They’re a great chance for those who love London and live here, as well as for visitors to the city to get off the tourist trail and look around the area – while experiencing the most British of things – the traditional pub.”

http://www.capitalcaskaletrail.co.uk/london

Craft Brewers get new seal on their creations

Craft brewers can now get extra protection for their ales with the introduction of a new specialist insurance scheme.

The Craft Brewery Insurance scheme has been devised by the CBG group.

The insurance broker and financial services specialist has developed the scheme in conjunction with Sterling Insurance Company.

Paul Jones, account executive at CBG, explained that it has also been devised after working with the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

Dave Mackie, group business developer at CBG, said that the new scheme built on CBG’s strategy of identifying market potential in niche areas.

“With the launch of Craft Brewery, this is another extremely strong string to our bow,” he added.

SIBA was founded in 1980 and describes itself as ‘the campaigning, political and representative voice of the independent quality brewing industry.”

CBG’s scheme is more evidence of the increasing importance being attached to small brewers, both in the UK and on the other side of the Atlantic.

At the Great British Beer Festival last year there were 180 American beers – twice as many as before.

Bob Pease, the vice president of the American Brewers Association, told The Independent: “Consumers over here are finally clueing in to what Europeans have known for generations. That is that fresh, local, independent producers are better for you, and their stuff tastes better.”

Pubs raise the bar with charity giving

British pubs and pub-goers are still giving generous sums to good causes, despite the economic climate.

A survey conducted by CGAStrategy, working closely with RP Databases Ltd, for PubAid, shows that as much as £101 million a year is potentially raised by British pubs.

The survey of 1,500 outlets revealed that 667 charities benefit from the funds. The main beneficiaries are Help for Heroes and Air Ambulance, with local charities also coming high in the league table.

Analysis concluded that 77% of the UK’s 60,000 pubs and bars carry out some kind of charitable activity.

Speaking at a British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) lunch last week Bob Neill MP said: “This survey clearly demonstrates the amazing support that many community pubs give to charities across the country.”

The MP for Bromley & Chislehurst pointed out that the survey reveals that the average pub raises over £2,000 a year. Quiz nights and raffles are the most popular fund-raising activities.

Mr Neill, who was last year appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government, noted how the activities help to ensure the popularity of pubs.

“It is also great to see that many of the fund raising activities pubs have undertaken involve bringing local people together and sharing collective experiences,” he added.

PubAid promotes charitable activity in the pub sector. A PubAid spokesman said that the survey’s findings could be used to show how important the pub is to the heart of the community.

The statistically representative sample was selected by CGA and PubAid to provide a cross section of both geography and different pub types.

www.pubaid.com

Beck’s bottles 25 years of artistic talent

Beck’s beer is inviting art lovers to go on a London pub crawl and discover more about some of the creators of the famous art labels.
The InBev brand is celebrating 25 years of its Beck’s Art Labels. This innovation has involved contemporary artists bringing their own creativity to the design of the Beck’s bottle label.
Beck’s describes its Beer into Art concept as: “Transforming ordinary beer bottles into contemporary pieces of artwork”.
Many famous artists have created the labels, including: Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons, Bruce Mclean, Richard Long, Tim Head, Tony Oursler, Tim Noble & Sue Webster and Roderick Buchanan.
The Art Crawl includes a list of pubs which will host the work of one of the famous artists, as well as exclusive audio interviews.
Punters have the chance to win limited edition prints if they register their visit on the Facebook site.
In addition to admiring art, Beck’s also invited art lovers to come up with their own ideas. Art college students were invited to submit designs for a new label, to the Beck’s Facebook page.
Members of the public were encouraged to take part in the Shoot Experience. This involved participants taking their cameras on to the London streets to create memorable photos.
The Beck’s Art Crawl ends on 28th April. The participating pubs are centred on East London.
www.facebook.com/becksvier
www.becks.co.uk

Budget Review

The license trade was watching George Osbournes’ speech closely yesterday for encouraging news. Here CGA Chief Executive, Jon Collins, gives an overview of what yesterday’s budget meant for the trade:
By stating that there would be no further changes to the rate of alcohol duty other than those inherited from the previous Government, the Chancellor excited many bloggers and tweeters into thinking that meant no duty increase full stop. Of course, that was not his intention.
“1.154 The Government is committed to fair excise duties on tobacco and alcohol which contribute to deficit reduction whilst supporting health objectives. In addition to the duty increases that the government inherited, it is restructuring cigarette duty and increasing duty on hand-rolling tobacco by a further 10 per cent. ”
By stating that the Government is simply continuing the duty regime set out by Labour he is actually ignoring all industry lobbying and passing on the full duty escalator. The Treasury expects that will translate through to 4p a pint. They have consistently underestimated the impact of this sort of increase so it could well be higher.
“2.120 Alcohol duty rates – As first announced at Budget 2008, alcohol duty rates will increase by 2 per cent above the RPI on 28 March 2011. This will add 4 pence to the price of a pint of beer, 15 pence to the price of a bottle of wine, and 54 pence to the price of a bottle of spirits. (Finance Bill 2011)”
The challenge now for producers and retailers is to calculate how much of this increase can be countered by efficiency savings and margin sacrifice and how much simply has to be passed on to the customer. Recent years have shown how the supermarkets can be more adept at preventing such increases getting to the shelf which suggests that this change, as with its predecessors, will increase the price gap between on and off trade.
As previously announced, the Chancellor is to amend the alcohol duty regime to support health and social policy aims. The increased duty for higher strength beers is unlikely to have much impact in the on trade (the aim is to reduce street drinking) but is there an opportunity for a creative brewer to benefit from the reduced duty for beers at 2.8% abv or below? I have long thought it is simply a matter of time before the ‘Be Good to Yourself’ approach to food (all the flavour, half the fat) moves across to alcohol.
“1.155 From 1 October 2011, the Government will introduce an additional duty on high-strength beers, and a reduced rate of duty on lower-strength beers to encourage their production and consumption. This will reduce the health and social harms resulting from problem drinking, and is designed to avoid unfairly penalising responsible drinkers.”
“2.121 Changes to the beer duty regime – The review of alcohol taxation in November 2010 announced measures to encourage the consumption of lower strength beers. The Government will introduce a new additional duty on beers over 7.5 per cent alcohol by volume (abv) in strength at a rate of 25 per cent of general beer duty. This will add 25 pence to the price of a can of “super strength” lager. A reduced rate of 50 per cent of general beer duty will be introduced for beers of 2.8 per cent abv or below and above 1.2 per cent abv in strength. This will reduce the price of a pint of beer at 2.8 per cent abv by 18 pence. These changes will come into effect from 1 October 2011. (Finance Bill 2011)”
* All paragraph references relate to the Budget 2011 ‘Red Book’ which can be found on the Treasury website,
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

£18 rare beer on offer at Manchester bar

A new Manchester bar is selling an £18 bottle of beer. The Port Street Beer House is offering Uinta Detour Double IPA to discerning drinkers at £18 .
Not far behind, in price terms, is Bracia honey beer at £15 a bottle. Bracia uses honey from Alpine foothills and is the creation of Derbyshire based Thornbridge brewery.
Jonny Heyes, who owns Port Street Beer House, told the Manchester Evening News that he would like customers to savour some new and exiting flavours.
He said: “The rarity of these beers is of interest but it’s important that this doesn’t come across as being elitist because that is not really what we’re about.”
The city centre Port Street Beer House opened in January and is proving popular with both young and old. Port Street’s motto is “Craft Beers from here there and everywhere.”
The bars highest ABV offering is the ten month aged Samtchlaus Classic Malt Liquor, which has a 14% abv.
http://www.portstreetbeerhouse.co.uk/

Hook Norton pub gets extra dimension from 3D TV

Real ale and state-of-the art sports coverage are drawing punters young and old to a Worcester pub.
Mark Lovegrove and Suzanne Poluczanis are the new tenants of the Cap ‘n’ Gown. They have decided to show sport in Sky TV’s 3D format.
Speaking about the 3D glasses, Ms Poluczanis said: “It’s as if we have a pub full of Elvis Costello look-alikes.” She added that sports and music are big attractions at the Cap ‘n’ Gown, in addition to banter and camaraderie.
The real ale served at the pub seems, Ms Poluczanis says, to be more popular with younger drinkers than older ones. She says the Cap ‘n’ Gown has fulfilled her ambition to run a pub. Speaking about Worcester, Ms Poluczanis said: “It is so beautiful and has got great culture.”

Finnish scientists work on recreating shipwreck beer

A 200-year-old beer salvaged from a Baltic shipwreck could be brewed again if scientists can recreate it. The beer was found in July 2010, along with vintage champagne. The shipwreck was dated between 1800 and 1830. The two-mast ship is believed to have been travelling between Denmark and St Petesburg.
The wreck was found in the Aland archipelago which stretches between the coasts of Sweden and Finland. The local government of the Aland Island has commissioned a CSI type study which may result in the beer being cloned.
Annika Wilhelmson of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) told the BBC that her team has scanned the beer’s yeast and bacterial cells under microscope. If they cannot find living microbes the team will examine the beer’s DNA and then compare it to brewing yeasts that are known about today. Dr Wilhelmson said that the biggest challenge would be determining which hops were used. She said: “We need to analyse what it is today and start thinking about what it was like when it was made – when it was fresh, because it clearly isn’t fresh now.”

CAMRA picks Harp as Pub of the Year

A Covent Garden pub has become the first from London to win the Campaign for Real Ale’s National Pub of the Year. The Harp won the prize for its commitment to selling real ale. The pub is owned by Bridget Walsh who bought it in 2009, after previously taking it on as a tenant in 1995. Ms Walsh said: “I would like to thank my locals, CAMRA members and particularly my brilliant staff, who made this a real team effort.” CAMRA said that The Harp serves 8 real ales and a wide selection of real ciders and perries. Kimberley Martin, CAMRA’s London Regional Director commented: “The Harp is a perfect example of how the London cask beer scene is reaching out to new drinkers.” The Harp is situated near to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. In addition to its commitment to real ale, the pub was commended for its décor which includes mirrors, theatrical memorabilia and portraits. Julian Hough, CAMRA Pubs Director, said: “The most impressive aspect of The Harp is that it retains its appeal as a true local, even though situated in the tourist heart of the capital.” CAMRA's National Pub of the Year competition is now in its twenty third year. Each CAMRA branch votes for their favourite pub. The branch winners are entered into 16 regional competitions, with the winners then battling it out to reach the final stages of the national competition. This year's runners up include Salutation, Ham, Gloucestershire. The pub was commended for its friendliness and for sourcing beers from nearby breweries. Beacon Hotel, Sedgley was described by the judges as a beautifully-restored Victorian tap house. The Taps, Henry Street, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire was commended for six varying guest beers including a cask mild. The pub supports the local lifeboat and rugby team.
www.camra.org.uk

Whitbread opens the doors of its first low carbon Beefeater

Whitbread opened its first low carbon Beefeater Restaurant on 1st November, adjoined to an environmentally sustainable Premier Inn hotel in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

Pernod Ricard sees First Quarter sales stabilise in Europe

Pernod Ricard has announced 10% organic growth for its first quarter of 2010-11. The international drinks giant said that its Western European sales had stabilised.

Whitbread sales mix serves up strong half year results

Whitbread has reported strong results in an uncertain economic climate. The hotel and leisure group this week announced results for the six months to 2nd September 2010.

SABMiller plans for water scarcity and other future scenarios

Adnams Turns Beer into Fuel

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