Southport beer festival can’t tempt

There’s 80 odd beers etc on at the Southport Camra beer festival. I was going to go today, but the idea of standing up for four hours morbidly scooping without my wingman Monty – who made such occasions enjoyable with his off- the- wall philosophy – was too much.
I went to Liverpool instead, stopping [...]

Ale & Hearty returns

Southport Camra’s news magazine has returned after a six-month break.
In charming fashion, gentleman editor Michael Hoey blames the ”world economy collapse” for the hiatus, admitting that Camra’s hopeful deal with commercial printers Gaynors has now gone sour and that the magazine has been forced to scale back its ambitions.
Without wanting to be rude, Ale & Hearty was on a [...]

Licensee blasts Southport Camra

A well known licensee has told the SD that they are on the verge of throttling members of Southport Camra.
The publican, who will remain nameless, is tired of hearing talk about saving pubs, only for said members to spend all their cash on 99p pints in Wetherspoons.
On the odd occasion when they do visit this [...]

Liverpool beer festival a sell out

Deuchars IPA is to sponsor the Liverpool Camra Beer Festival, February 19-21.
 Tickets for the ”Ales from the Crypt” event, which takes place in the bowels of Paddy’s Wigwam sold out in 65 minutes. The only way to get in is to volunteer to work.

Cheaper cider on the way?

Just when I get the taste for cider, a record crop has been announced which should (and I say should) see cheaper prices for the product.
Funnily enough, sales of Magners have slumped amid competition from other brands and changing fashions. If you are drinking cider, it’s worth seeking out the real stuff as opposed to the likes of anything [...]

Southport beer festival

This Thursday marks the start of the three-day Southport beer festival at the town’s arts centre. Always a good event, with good beer, it’s well worth a visit. More details can be found by clicking here.
The local Camra, meanwhile has included The Richmond and the Lloyds No1 bar in this year’s Good Beer Guide and [...]

Blood Tub closed

The Ship at Lathom (aka the Blood Tub) has closed down.
The administrators of Cains are continuing to close down their pubs with the Thatch in Southport and Black Horse, Croston, looking over their shoulders, too.
The Blood Tub – one of the most historically famous pubs in the area – has reverted back to the ownership [...]

What’s Brewing and Beer Magazine

The new Beer magazine from Camra is gorgeous. Full of lovingly-crafted articles, newsy features, taste tests and columns it is a delight to read from start to finish.
Highlights include a feature by acclaimed author Sebastian Faulks on England’s pub signs, Camra’s ‘perfect’ 10 pubs (including the wonderful Roscoe Head in Liverpool), and a booze up [...]

Eureka! Good beer brings in the punters

On a tour of some of Ormskirk and Aughton’s best pubs — organised by the Campaign for Real Ale — I found packed bars, good beer and lots to cheer about.
First up was the Eureka in Ormskirk, an alehouse given a loving makeover by  Simon Taylor and his wife Louise. A clean and modern pub, the [...]

West lancs beer crawl

The Campaign for Real Ale has named the Derby Arms in Aughton as their West Lancashire pub of the Year. The pub has also made it through to the next stage of the national best boozer competition.
On July 18, the Southport branch of Camra will be running a coach tour of some of West [...]