As recently as 1991 Nottinghamshire had four regional
breweries, Hardys & Hansons, Home, Mansfield and Shipstones,
who owned the majority of local pubs and supplied them with
good quality ales at reasonable prices. Customers enjoyed
these local brews and were fiercely loyal to them, but
despite being very profitable the breweries were taken over
and closed. We now have the sad situation where the majority
of our pubs sell just nationally branded beers, their
popularity due to massive advertising budgets rather than
beer quality or true customer loyalty. Worse still these
beers are trucked in from all over the country at a massive
cost to our environment, increasing pollution, road
congestion and damage to our roads.
But all is not lost. Since the mid-nineties an increasing
number of craft breweries have sprung up in the area
producing some outstandingly good beer. Within the Newark
area we have Maypole, Milestone and Springhead, with over a
dozen more not very far away, including Caythorpe, Poachers,
Oldershaws and Brewsters.
To encourage the take up of local beers in our pubs Newark
CAMRA is joining Nottingham CAMRA's initiative, the LocAle
scheme. This unique accreditation will be awarded to pubs
which pledge to always offer at least one locally brewed
real ale on their bar.
The scheme will be open to all pubs within the Newark and
Southwell area and it will be operated by the Newark Branch
of CAMRA with the assistance of the Nottinghamshire
Transport 2000 environmental lobby group. Pubs will be given
point of sale material and window stickers to promote their
accreditation and this will also be publicised in the Beer
Gutter Press, at Newark Beer Festival, on the Newark CAMRA
web site and wherever else the opportunity arises.
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The LocAle scheme is not intended
to reduce the number or range of guest beers seen in our
pubs, on the contrary CAMRA welcomes the interest and
variety that they bring to the local pub scene. What we are
trying to do is encourage the sale of locally brewed ales as
a regular beer in local pubs, in place of pretty ordinary
beers shipped in from all over the country.
CAMRA is aware that many pubs cannot buy in the beers they
would like to sell, and their customers would like to drink,
because of restrictive ties but ways can often be found to
get locally brewed beers onto the bar if the will is there,
such as through the direct delivery scheme operated by SIBA
(The Society of Independent Brewers). We can also advise
pubs as to which breweries are local to them and how to make
contact with the brewers.
Initially the scheme was limited to the area
of the Nottingham Branch of CAMRA, who devised the scheme.
However, interest is already being shown by neighbouring
branches and it is already being rolled out further afield,
hopefully going National before long.
Look out for the LocAle window stickers and the font crowns
with the LocAle logo to ensure a pint of locally produced
real ale! Remember - Drink real ale…drink LocAle!
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For more information,
download our Licensee's leaflet (1336k)
Newark branch pubs signed up for the scheme so far:
Bramley Apple, Southwell
Dumbles, Southwell
Fox & Crown, Newark
Full Moon, Morton
Lord Nelson, Sutton on Trent
Mail Coach, Newark
Nag's Head, Sutton on Trent
Old Coach House, Southwell
Spread Eagle, Hockerton
Vine, Newark
Also near by:
Bridge Inn, Dunham on Trent
Pubs wishing to apply for accreditation should
contact Newark CAMRA here
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