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As a result of Government advice regarding the Covid-19 virus, all upcoming branch meetings and social events have been cancelled until further notice.
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.
Latest news
New lock-down in force
Following the Government's decision to introduce a new nationwide lock-down from November 5th, all hospitality venues (including pubs) are currently closed. As and when venues reopen, strict social distancing rules will no doubt still apply, though there may be variations in how these are enforced. Whatpub.com will have all the latest details.
Click the links below for a list of venues in our main branch locations that are offering a delivery and/or takeaway service:
PUB, CLUB AND BREWERY NEWS - Autumn 2020
Pub of the Year 2019/2020
Our branch POTY has been awarded to Jack and Hannah Woodruff of The Disappearing Chin in Harrogate. The award certificate was presented at a covid-safe event on November 3rd, just before the new lock-down came into effect on the 5th.
This small bar opened in April 2019 in a shop unit opposite the bus station. In normal circumstances, three handpumps serve three changing cask ales, always including a dark beer, and there are eight craft keg fonts. They host occasional tap takeovers. They are currently operating a beer delivery and collection service. www.thedisappearingchin.co.uk
Congratulations to Jack and Hannah, pictured here with their new certificate (and Elda the dog).
The following news pre-dates the current Covid-19 lockdown:
Harrogate
The Swan (on the Stray) has not re-opened following lock-down along with a number of other Market Town Taverns pubs; the lease at the Swan is now up for sale, free of tie and at a nil premium.
Knaresborough
The Mitre (Market Town Taverns) re-opened on 11 th September with a reduced beer count, and now closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Track and Sleeper is the name of a new micropub expected to open this autumn on Knaresborough’s station platform, it will be operated by the owners of the Rockingham Tap in Swinton, near Rotherham. Planning consent has now been approved by Harrogate Borough Council (20/02164/LB).
Ripon
The Black Swan now serves two cask ales, namely Doom Bar and Swan’s Best (Theakston Best).
The Golden Lion is under new management and now offers an interesting range of up to five good quality ales, both local and from further afield. Hambleton's 'Nightmare Porter' appears to be a regular.
Outlying areas
The General Tarleton Inn & Restaurant at Ferrensby has not re-opened since lockdown. The premises / business is now up for sale, offers over £1m.
The Lime Tree Inn is a new-build pub opened in Great Ouseburn. It serves two Rudgate beers and two changing beers. The pub was built by a local builder after the village’s only pub, the Crown Inn, was closed by Wellington Inns who then refused to sell the pub to the villagers despite its Asset of Community Value (ACV) status. https://www.thelimetreeinn.com/
Hideaway Kitchen at The Dunsforth (formerly Dunsforth) at Lower Dunsforth closed at the end of August.
The Three Horseshoes in Killinghall has now closed for good after an application for demolition by Punch Taverns and construction of a convenience store and four flats was approved by Harrogate Borough Council (19/04606/FUL).
The Anchor Inn at Langthorpe has re-opened under new management after the previous tenant quit following unreasonable demands by Red Oak Taverns. Oakham Citra is now the single regular cask ale.
The Cross Keys Inn at Markington is up for sale at £375k. This is a two-pub village with both pubs owned by the same owners; the Cross Keys closed in 2016.
The Staveley Arms (formerly Stags Head) at North Stainley re-opened in August after a closure of over a year. Three regular cask ales are served, namely Black Sheep and Theakston Best Bitter together with Timothy Taylor Landlord.
Club News
St Robert’s Club on Robert Street, Harrogate has not re-opened since lock-down.
Brewery News
All the breweries in our region were selling cans, bottles and/or mini-kegs during lock-down and most are continuing to do so now. Check Pulling Together or WhatPub to go to the individual brewery shops online.
Cold Bath Brewing on Kings Road are now serving three cask ales.
Harrogate Brewing have increased brewing capacity with new fermenters. The Taproom is now open Thursday through Sunday every week. Up to four cask ales are available. The brewery suffered an arson attack recently, but have managed to continue brewing, and to keep the tap room open.
Rooster’s taproom at Hornbeam Park is open Wednesday to Sunday. They are now using their own online ordering system for table service, instead of the 'Round' app.
Turning Point’s taproom in Knaresborough is open Fridays and Saturdays only.
Note that the above taprooms are now all card only, and, with the exception of Cold Bath Brewing and Roosters, they prefer you to use the Round app to order your beers! If you do not have a smartphone / tablet or cannot use the app please speak to staff who will take your order and card/contactless payment.
Card/contactless payments
The following establishments are now only accepting card or contactless payments:-
Harrogate
Cold Bath Brewing
Disappearing Chin
Harrogate Brewing
Little Ale House
Major Tom’s Social
North Bar
Rooster’s Taproom
Starling Bar
Knaresborough
Bear at Carriages
Groves Inn
Six Poor Folk (online payments only)
So! Bar & Eats
Storm Bar & Restaurant at Dower House
Turning Point Taproom
Note that all Sam Smiths houses remain strictly cash only.
If any of the above is incorrect or out of date, please let us know by emailing harcamra@hotmail.co.uk or ‘Submit Update’ via www.whatpub.com
Beer festivals and events
As we are currently under a 2nd Coronavirus lockdown, there are no events or festivals scheduled at this time.
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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