Latest news
Harrogate
The Coach & Horses has been bought by Provenance Inns, who also own nearby West Park and the Punch Bowl (Marton cum Grafton) amongst other Yorkshire venues. This pub was a Good Beer Guide entry for the last 20 years serving eight cask ales until its closure due to the pandemic.
At The Little Ale House, Harrogate Borough Council have approved change of use of the first and second floors from Class E (restaurant) to public house / bar / micro bar (21/03768/COU). However, the owners have advised us that they have no plans to expand the existing business into this space.
The lease of The Montpellier (Enterprise) is up for sale, offers over £170k.
https://www.barrycrux.co.uk/property/the-montpellier-public-house
The Pine Marten on Otley Road has recently undergone a major refurbishment.
Knaresborough
The former Natwest bank in Knaresborough is to be turned into an independent bar and restaurant after a premises licence was granted for the venue. It will reopen as Claro Social – a collaboration between Knaresborough brewery Turning Point Brew Co and Harrogate bar Major Tom’s Social.
Turning Point taproom is closed now until the new year, but re-opens for a one-day only winter special on Saturday 27th November. ‘Cask and keg, including a couple of rarities.’ according to Twitter:
https://twitter.com/TurningPointbco/status/1455883042195652611
Ripon
The Golden Lion (Greene King) is currently closed. It has applied for planning consent for alterations including removal of existing wall and ceiling panels to the conservatory, and stripping out of the existing gents’ toilet to create an external drinking area (21/04765/LB).
At The Ship (closed 2018, did not serve real ale) the planning application for conversion to five flats together with four terraced and one detached house on the site has been approved by Harrogate Borough Council (20/00624/FULMAJ).
At The Turks Head (aka Yorkshire Rose) which has been closed for some years, and was marketed for sale late last year as a ‘rare development opportunity’, there is an application for change of use to a residential dwelling (21/04086/LB).
Outlying areas
The Blue Bell at Kirby Hill near Boroughbridge is currently up for sale. Run by Dave Hamby, (formerly of the One Eyed Rat in Ripon), the pub will continue to trade as normal until further notice.
The Ship Inn at Aldborough is closed following an electrical fire in their kitchen in October.
Hopper Lane Hotel at Blubberhouses which re-opened in April after a year’s closure, closed again in September and currently remains closed due to the Covid infection of a vulnerable family member.
Borough Tap is the name of a new micropub to open soon on Horsefair in Boroughbridge in the former Horticouture florist, previously a hardware shop.
https://thestrayferret.co.uk/licence-granted-for-new-micropub-in-boroughbridge
The Tiger Inn at Coneythorpe re-opened on 25 th October after nearly a year closed following a kitchen fire in November 2020.
Sharow Parish Council continues its fight to save the Half Moon in Sharow, which first opened in 1822. Villagers led by the Parish Council have enlisted Camra’s support in their efforts to have the building registered as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). https://www.facebook.com/HalfMoonPubSharow Currently the premises are being marketed for let with a new free of tie lease, price on application. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73256808
Club News
Balcony Bar at Harrogate Cricket Club now serves three cask ales, Black Sheep Best Bitter and two Rooster’s beers.
Masham Golf Club welcomes non-members in their bar, currently serving two Masham ales, possibly adding Saltaire Blonde.
St Robert’s Club on Robert Street, Harrogate re-opened in September after an 18-month closure. Open Wednesday to Friday evenings, with one Black Sheep beer.
Plan a local pub crawl...
KNARESBOROUGH
This small market town boasts a diverse selection of great real ale pubs.
HARROGATE
RIPON
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.
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.
Find out more at https://camra.org.uk/nbss
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
