Branch meetings
Tuesday 25 Feb - 19:30
Winter Gardens, Harrogate
Social events
Thursday 23 January
Manchester Beer Festival
Saturday 8 Feb - 13:00
Meet the branch crawl, starting at Blind Jack's, Knaresborough
SEE MORE >
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 a micropub.
From one-eyed rats to unicorns, this cathedral city has a variety of real ale watering holes.
We need your help to survey our branch pubs. Find out more here.
Latest news
30 years in the Good Beer Guide
The One Eyed Rat on Allhallowgate in Ripon has achieved the accolade of 30 continuous years in the Good Beer Guide. Landlord Dave Hamby is shown here receiving a certificate from branch chairman Alan Pounder at a special presentation on Saturday 14 December.
Harrogate
The Oatlands (formerly Oatlands Mount Club) has recently undergone a major refurbishment, and whilst still a membership club with a Club licence, is presenting itself as more of a pub. Three real ales are served, namely Daleside Old Legover, Rooster’s Yankee and Tetley Bitter.
The Woodlands Hotel on Wetherby Road is being considered for investment by owners Star Pubs and Bars who are ‘looking for an experienced food operator who will work with Star to transform the Woodlands Hotel into a pub known for great drinks, food and service’. The pub currently serves John Smith’s Cask and one changing beer, often from Marston’s.
Knaresborough
The Board Inn (Enterprise, closed 2017) went up for sale by auction in December with a guide price of £395k, following approval of its planning application to convert the existing pub, bed and breakfast and manager's flat to form a public house, three flats and four houses (19/01383/FUL).
https://www.ukauctionlist.com/category/tags/knaresborough
The Castle Inn (Enterprise) re-opened just before Christmas under the management of Simon and Sharon Colgan who also have Blues Bar, The Empress and World’s End as well as the Duck & Drake and Grove Inn in Leeds. Now serving two Daleside, a Rooster’s and one changing beer, e.g. Kelham Island.
The Market Tavern (Enterprise) closed on 5th January and the landlord has retired. The pub is currently undergoing refurbishment, to be re-opened as a sports bar under the Craft Union brand (similar to Prince of Wales, Starbeck). The pub rarely served real ale in the recent past.
Mother Shipton Inn suffered a fire in their ‘Barn Room’ on the Sunday before Christmas. Fortunately there was only minimal damage and the pub was operating again the following day.
Ripon
The future of The Golden Lion (Greene King) on Allhallowgate is looking uncertain.
The Lamb and Flag is being considered for investment by Star Pubs and Bars.
The Navigation (Enterprise) has reopened following refurbishment.
South Lodge is being considered for a ‘transformational refurbishment’ by Star Pubs and Bars.
Other towns and villages
The lease of the Black A Moor Inn at Bridge Hewick near Ripon is up for sale by the current lessee. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-85816784.html
The Half Moon at Fellbeck near Pateley Bridge is up for sale, offers over £750k, including its six self-contained holiday cottages. https://www.daltonsbusiness.com/bistros-for-sale/freehold-free-of-tie-public-house-and-b-harrogate-north-yorkshire-uk/467669
The Bay Horse Inn at Goldsborough has re-opened with Mark and Clare Oglesby, owners of Goldsborough Hall, now leasing the pub from Enterprise. Chez La Vie owner and chef Tony
Fulford is currently running the kitchen at the Bay Horse, whilst his former business Chez La Vie @ The Nelson at Hampsthwaite is closed.
At the Three Horseshoes in Killinghall (Punch), Dynamic Capital Killinghall Ltd have submitted a planning application (19/04606/FUL) to Harrogate Borough Council to demolish the pub and build a convenience store and four two-bedroom apartments above the store. Over 83% of local residents
supported the proposal in a pre-planning consultation.
There may be change imminent at the Blue Bell Inn at Kirby Hill (owned by Dave and Ruth Hamby who also operate the One Eyed Rat in Ripon). At the end of last year the pub was being advertised for lease on a Nil Premium.
The Fox and Hounds at Langthorpe has been refurbished, also has a new landlord and is now serving four ales, Theakston Best and three changing beers, e.g. Isaac Poad.
The Green Tree Inn at Little Ouseburn is now closed. The pub, which went up for sale early in 2018, has planning consent to redevelop into residential accommodation including a micropub and is currently under offer. https://www.carterjonas.co.uk/property/for-sale/york/har170449
The Lamb Inn at Rainton which closed in January 2019, is up for sale with ‘development potential, subject to planning’.
https://www.avisonyoung.co.uk/properties/-/property/detail-gva+15207
At the Scotts Arms in Sicklinghall (Punch) planning permission for two dwellings has been approved by Harrogate Borough Council (19/03625/FUL).
The Black Lion at Skelton on Ure, which was one of 137 community pubs sold by Marston’s to Admiral Taverns in November, closed in December following unreasonable demands by the new pubco on the leaseholder of 12 years.
Brewery news
Harrogate Brewing Co taproom opened for the last time with Anton and Sarah Stark in charge on Saturday 7th December with live electronica music from Horse Head Stetson, food from Triffik’s and the usual great selection of beers brewed on site. The new owner is expected to take over the brewery during January, and the taproom should re-open in March. The brewery is expanding from 4bbl to 10bbl, approx. 2.5 times previous capacity, and will include keg and lager.
Isaac Poad Brewing are moving out of our area from Cattal to Husthwaite.
Turning Point Brewery started brewing at the old Rooster's Brewing site in Knaresborough at the end of last year. They opened the brewery to the public on 6th /7th December, and are planning regular taproom openings early in 2020. Tap takeovers have been held at Blind Jack’s just before
Christmas, and Six Poor Folk in January.
Club news
The following is the complete list of clubs serving real ale which have recently been surveyed and all welcome Camra visitors on production of a valid Camra membership card:-
Social clubs:-
Bilton WMC – Daleside Old Legover only.
Boroughbridge Social Club – Camerons Strongarm, John Smith's Cask and one changing beer e.g. Copper Dragon.
Harlow Hill Club (Otley Road) – Tetley Bitter plus one changing beer.
Harrogate Conservative Club – Tetley Bitter only.
Harrogate Londesborough Club (Club of the Year) – Morland Old Speckled Hen, and one changing beer, either Theakston Old Peculier (from the wood!) or another Morland beer.
Knaresborough WMC – Theakston Best, sometimes Old Peculier (and fantastic views from beer balcony).
The Oatlands formerly Oatlands Mount Club – Daleside Old Legover, Rooster's Yankee and Tetley Bitter.
Pateley Club (Pateley Bridge) - Theakston Best Bitter plus one changing beer in summer, e.g. Timothy Taylor.
Starbeck Conservative Unionist Working Mens Club – two changing beers.
St Robert's Club (Robert Street, Harrogate) - a regular Black Sheep variety only.
Sports Clubs:-
Harrogate Cricket Club – Black Sheep Baa Baa and Tetley Bitter plus one changing ale, often including a second Black Sheep variety.
Harrogate Golf Club – Wainwright plus one changing beer.
Harrogate RUFC - Black Sheep Best Bitter plus one changing beer from Greene King.
Knaresborough Golf Club – Theakston Lightfoot plus one changing beer.
Masham Golf Club - Theakston Best Bitter only.
Oakdale Golf Club (Duchy) – Tetley Bitter plus one/two changing beers.
Pannal Golf Club – Theakston Best Bitter plus one changing beer.
Ripon City Golf Club - Timothy Taylor's Golden Best and Theakston Best Bitter plus a changing ale, usually Morland.
Rudding Park Golf Club – Rooster's Highway 51 only.
Branch diary
MEETINGS
SOCIAL EVENTS
OTHER
Tuesday 25 February 2020
19:30
Winter Gardens, Harrogate
Thursday 23 January 2020
Manchester Beer Festival
10:02 train from Harrogate. Arrive Manchester Deansgate just after 12:00.
Saturday 08 February 2020
13:00
New members / Meet the branch
Crawl around Knaresborough, starting at Blind Jack's.
Friday 21 February 2020
Bradford Beer Festival
Saltaire
10:02 train from Harrogate. Free entry for CAMRA members.
What Pub surveys
Thank you to everyone who has carried out surveys of the pubs and clubs in our branch area. Over the last year we have managed to get out to virtually all of them. Special thanks goes to members Roland and Ken who have made it their mission to survey all the outstanding venues on the list, many of them in remote areas.
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
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For more information about CAMRA, or to become a member visit camra.org.uk
