Short Bennington

I've just returned from a short trip to Long Bennington (Nottingham post codes, Lincolnshire council, Newark CAMRA zone), arguably one of the most quintessentially English villages in our region. Wide main street, good local facilities, and 3 pubs which in the past have catered for the different tastes and pockets of the residents and visitors.

Time to get controversial:-

The Wheatsheaf - Guest ales off, barrel behind the bar under blanket pressure hadn't "got anything in it yet"(!?!?!?), John Smith's cask had a vinegary taste of unclean pipes, giving that authentic barrel-bottom quality I remember from growing up in Newark.

The Royal Oak - Marstons' beers (have we decided to boycott these yet?). I went for the seasonal Jennings (Honey Bole, served by a really nice landlady), which promised so much; but I'm sorry, it was DEAD. Can't blame the Chief Exec for that.

The Reindeer - cost aside, Green King aside, our last chance for a decent pint was a pint of Abbott - but the barrel died on the previous pint. So, Bombardier, or a return to JS cask? You decide.

I would absolutely love to be positive writing this, so I will be - I had a great night in great company, all the pubs were selling real ale and all were really quite busy. Selling out of beer is a good thing! Having variety available is even better! But the beer was either unbelievably bad, or uninspiring before tasting. Utterly demoralising after.

It seems to me that the village is trying to keep the outside world from entering. Ever seen "The Village" film? For goodness sake LB, let the beer in !!!

1st LocAle & Weinfest this June.

2008/9 sees the 25th anniversary of the very successful twinning link between Newark and the German town of Emmendingen in the Black Forest. Emmendingen is the largest town within the Breisgau wine producing area which contains approximately 30 different wine producers.

Each August the fruits of the vine and the labours of the growers are celebrated during the Breisgau Weinfest held in the Market Place and streets of Emmendingen over four evenings. During a visit to the Weinfest in 2006 members of Newark Town Council and Newark Twinning Association had the idea to recreate the Weinfest in Newark in some way. It was decided to hold the First Newark Wine Festival as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations.

Newark CAMRA, Newark Town Council, and Newark Twinning Association have teamed up to bring you the First Newark LocAle & Weinfest in the beautiful setting of Newark Castle Grounds. CAMRA will be hosting a selection of LocAles which, as the name suggests, is ale produced locally – within 20 miles, in fact.

More details at: http://www.newarkwinefestival.co.uk/

2009 Beer Fest gallery.

Photo's of the 2009 Beer festival have been uploaded to our gallery here.

Chairman Dunc rocks da house!

Is there no end to Duncan Neil's talents? Branch chairman, beer festival organiser, carpenter, and now rock singer. Dunc got up with the guys from Natural Born Boogie to perform an old classic for the closing number of the Newark Beer Festival on Sunday afternoon.

Two days to go...

to the 14th Newark Beer Festival. In the big Tent by the Trent, Riverside Park, Newark.

Friday 22nd
10.30am - 10.30pm
Saturday 23rd
10.30am - 10.30pm
Sunday 24th
12noon - 6.00pm

Entry at the door is just £5. Card carrying CAMRA members pay only £1.50. Full beer list posted below, or on the web site.

Newark beer list

Daa da da da da da daaaaaaa!!! Yes folks, what we've all been waiting for. It's the full beer menu for next weekend's 14th Newark Beer Festival.

Many thanks to Steve Westby for his hours of hard work putting this excellent order together.

You can download the full list from here.

See you all there!

Newark Show 2009

LocAle: just to clarify

It has become apparent in the recent months that some of our pubs with the LocAle accreditation may not be keeping up their side of the bargain as well as might be expected. Whilst we realise it is not always possible to guarantee having a local brew on offer 100% of the time, there have been a few instances that have come to our notice of accredited pubs not fulfilling the requirement a little too often.

So, in return for the positive local publicity that comes with accreditation, please serve a local beer – full details of your pub’s qualifying breweries are available from Newark CAMRA. Also, a little staff knowledge does not go amiss. On a recent night out, a group of us visited an accredited pub, which did not have a LocAle on offer. When questioned, the barmaid on duty told us that all the ales on offer were in fact local, when actually most of them were brewed a good 200 miles from Newark!

This is the unedited version of an article originally submitted by H for the Beer Gutter Press, Issue No.37