Latest news
Harrogate
Best Bar is a new keg-only bar on Parliament Street, café and bar by day, cocktail bar and nightclub after midnight until 4am at weekends.
At The Coach and Horses, there is an application for a pavement licence; re-opening of the pub is now expected ‘Summer 2022’ according to their website https://www.coachandhorsesharrogate.com
Five Shillings Brasserie, bar of the Crown Hotel, which did not re-open after the first lockdown in 2020, has applied to Harrogate Borough Council to surrender its separate licence for this bar.
Last Post Social House (Stonegate), on Cold Bath Road, are advertising for a new publican.
The Pickled Sprout, bar of the Yorkshire Hotel, on John Street, is no longer serving real ale.
The Woodlands is to undergo a £200k refurbishment by Star Pubs and Bars (Heineken) later this year. The pub will now keep its name after local opposition to the previously proposed change to ‘West Riding Harrogate’.
https://thestrayferret.co.uk/woodlands-pub-to-keep-its-name-after-200000-refurb
Knaresborough
The Wellington, Knaresborough’s last remaining Sam Smith’s pub closed on 21 st May. The managing tenants resigned following unreasonable demands by the pubco. Only two of 10 Sam’s pubs in the Harrogate district now remain open, namely the Harewood Arms in Follifoot and the Gardeners Arms in Bilton.
Outlying areas
The licensee of the Smiths Arms (Greene King) in Beckwithshaw has left after eight and a half years. This pub has been in the Good Beer Guide for the last seven years.
At the Lamb & Flag in Bishop Monkton (closed 2020) the planning application to build five dwellings on the site has been refused by Harrogate Borough Council on the grounds of ‘insufficient marketing to demonstrate that the pub could not be used for community purposes’ (21/01715/FUL).
https://thestrayferret.co.uk/housing-plan-for-lamb-and-flag-pub-refused
At the Henry Jenkins in Kirkby Malzeard (closed 2011), the latest planning application, for conversion of the western part of the pub to residential, has been refused by Harrogate Borough Council on the grounds of ‘insufficient marketing to demonstrate that in the absence of any use as a public house there is no alternative use for community purposes’ (21/04657/FUL). https://thestrayferret.co.uk/bid-to-convert-kirkby-malzeard-pub-rejected/
The Nelson Inn at Hampsthwaite is closed again. The property has been purchased by Brunning and Price, a pub restaurant chain who operate 80 venues across England and Wales. The pub is to be refurbished and is expected to re-open in early October.
The Black Lion at Skelton on Ure (closed 2019) has been put up for sale by Admiral Taverns for £375k after standing empty for two and a half years following their acquisition of the pub in a sale by Marstons (for £230k). The estate agent details state ‘for existing pub use only’ and that ‘the property is in need of full refurbishment but mainly cosmetic’.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85401405
Brewery News
Bad Co have gone into administration.
This small market town boasts a diverse selection of great real ale pubs.
The spa town with victorian inns, modern bars and micropubs.
From one-eyed rats to unicorns, this cathedral city has a variety of real ale watering holes.
Branch boundary map
You may be surprised by how large an area Harrogate and Ripon Camra covers, from Thornton Watlass, near Bedale in the north, to Pool in Wharfedale on the edge of Otley in the south. The map below shows the branch boundary.
Beer festivals and events
Beer scoring and the Good Beer Guide
You are probably aware of the ‘Good Beer Guide’, National CAMRA’s flagship publication which lists the best real ale pubs in the UK. But what you may not know is how those pubs are selected to appear in the Guide. The answer is that it is largely via beer scores submitted by CAMRA members from all over the country. If you are a CAMRA member you can send in beer scores. If you’ve ever wondered why your favourite pub isn’t in the Guide, this may well be because you, and others, haven’t entered scores rating the quality of beer there. By beer scoring, you can contribute to the process of selection of pubs that go in the Good Beer Guide. Here's how...
So how do I score the quality of the beer?
You don’t have to be an ‘expert’ to begin scoring your beer. However, it is not about your personal favourite beer receiving the highest scores! You may try a beer that isn’t to your normal taste but what you need to consider is the quality of that beer, how well the pub has kept it and served it, and score it according to the general guide below. It is a simple 0 to 5 point system, with half points being used if your opinion of the beer falls between two categories:
0. No cask ale available
1. Poor. Beer is anything from barely drinkable to drinkable with considerable resentment
2. Average. Competently kept, drinkable pint but doesn’t inspire in any way, not worth moving to another pub but you drink the beer without really noticing
3. Good. Good beer in good form. You may cancel plans to move to the next pub. You want to stay for another pint and may seek out the beer again
4. Very Good. Excellent beer in excellent condition. You stay put!
5. Perfect. Probably the best you are ever likely to find. A seasoned drinker will award this score very rarely
How do I submit my scores?
In order to submit your scores you need to either login to CAMRA’s online pub guide www.whatpub.com on a desktop computer or a smartphone, or you can use the GBG app on a smartphone. On WhatPub you will find over 35,000 real ale pubs from all over the UK; these are not all Good Beer Guide pubs, merely pubs that serve real ale. The same pubs can also be viewed on the GBG app or you can just select the Good Beer Guide pubs. In order to start submitting scores via either WhatPub or the GBG app you need to:-
1. Login to WhatPub. To do this you need your membership number and your CAMRA password. Or, in the GBG app link your CAMRA account by following the ‘Profile’ icon in the bottom right-hand corner.
2. You can then search for your pub by name. Be careful here as there are many pubs in the country which share the same name. Try searching the pub name and the town or postcode. The What Pub web page on a mobile device also gives you the option to search for real ale pubs nearby, very useful if you are in an unfamiliar town.
3. Once you have found your pub, go to the ‘Submit Beer Scores’ box on the right-hand side of the screen (on the WhatPub desktop version), tap ‘Submit Beer Scores’ on the tab bar underneath the pub photo (on the mobile WhatPub version), or tap ‘Beer Scoring’ immediately above the pub description (in the GBG app).
4. Simply fill in the date and your score, then as you begin typing, the brewery name should automatically appear underneath where you are typing. You do not have to enter the name of the beer you are drinking but if you wish to do so once you have entered the brewery name you should be able to click on the arrow in the beer box and a drop down list of that brewery’s beers should appear. In some cases the beer you are drinking may be new or a one off by the brewery so may not appear on the list, if this is the case you can simply type in the beer name. Select the beer name, click ‘submit score’ and your score will be entered into the database. (You can also optionally include the price per pint and comment on the beer under ‘Advanced options’).
It is as simple as that. An added bonus is that a record of your scores is kept so you can look back (on either WhatPub or the GBG app) to see the beers you’ve had and how you rated them.
How do I edit my scores?
If you submit an incorrect score by mistake or decide you want to change a score, here is a link to step by step instructions on how to edit your submission. EDIT MY SCORES
Want to know more?
Email:
All content © copyright 2022 Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA
For more information about CAMRA, or to become a member visit camra.org.uk