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Find a Pub in Manchester
Find a Pub by Tram
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Pubs By Tram

Manchester Metrolink's rapid and frequent service is ideal for visiting the many pubs and bars along its route. The expansion of the network taking place between 2011 and 2016 offers the ideal opportunity for days out exploring new areas. The first of the "Big Bang" extension took the network to the real ale haven of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. To mark this expansion, Trafford & Hulme CAMRA have published two guides to visiting pubs along the two Metrolink lines which run through the Trafford & Hulme branch - the line from the City Centre to Altrincham and the new South Manchester line to St Werburgh's Road via Chorlton. Leaflets are available from tourist information centres and pubs across the Trafford & Hulme branch or can be viewed and printed from the Trafford & Hulme website.

Pubs by Tram - City to Altrincham

Pubs by Tram - South Manchester Line

Hydes Relocation - CAMRA's Views

"While it is sad to see the demise of the historic and listed Queens Brewery, the Greater Manchester region of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is delighted by the commitment from Hydes to construct a new state of the art brewery within Greater Manchester, and by its decision to exclusively produce real cask ales. We are also pleased by the ongoing involvement of the Hydes family in their traditional business and their maintaining of a tied estate of pubs who will continue to be supplied by the new brewery"

Ralph Warrington
Greater Manchester Regional Director

Thwaites Acquires Hydes Free Trade Interests

The following was posted on Monday the 9th January 2012 on the Thwaites website

Lancashire-based brewer Daniel Thwaites PLC has agreed to purchase the free trade interests of Hydes Brewery, with effect from Monday 16th January 2012.

As a result of the transaction a number of Hydes employees will transfer to Daniel Thwaites and Thwaites will brew some of the Hydes brands under license for a period following completion.

Richard Bailey, Chief Executive of Daniel Thwaites said:
“The overriding objective in this transaction has been to offer our new customers a seamless transition and continue to provide them with a high quality of service so that they suffer minimal disruption. In addition it has been important to both parties to protect the employment of the Hydes team.
“This acquisition offers us an excellent opportunity to build from our strong base in the free trade in the North West and expand our presence in Greater Manchester, which has been an area of focus for us in the last few years.
“It consolidates our position as the leading brewer in the North of England and offers us opportunities for further growth.”

Hydes Plans to Relocate Brewery

Hydes Brewery issued a Press Release on the 6th January 2012 regarding its plans to relocate the brewery. The full text of the Press Release is provided below. The reaction from CAMRA Greater Manchester and the Trafford and Hulme Branch of CAMRA will follow in due course.

Hydes has today announced its intention to close its ageing Queens Brewery in Moss Side and move to a new facility within the locality late in 2012. The Company has identified a number of suitable premises that meet its needs for the future and will commit an investment of some £2.0m to the new site.

The new facility will be far more efficient than the existing plant and will focus exclusively on the production of high quality beers targeted at the growing cask ale sector. This will include popular favourites such as Hydes Original and Manchester’s Finest as well as a diverse range of seasonal and themed craft ales.

As the closure will involve the potential loss of a number of jobs at the Moss Side site, the Company has entered into a period of consultation with all staff concerned. Nonetheless the sizeable investment in the new brewery would enable the company to protect the interests of a number of skilled staff who would be critical to the success of the new brewery. Every effort will be made to help any staff affected by these changes to find alternative roles.

Linked to this proposed change Hydes has also decided to withdraw from supplying the free trade market. Following this decision the company is pleased to announce that it has agreed to sell its free trade interests to Daniel Thwaites PLC to ensure continuity of supply to free trade customers. This sale will complete on 16th January 2012. Hydes free trade sales team and some free trade support staff will transfer to Thwaites as part of this deal.

“This was a very difficult decision for us to take and although it will be sad to see brewing end at Queens Brewery it is simply not sustainable” commented Hydes Managing Director Chris Hopkins. “The site was built over 150 years ago and is not able to meet the challenges of efficient production and distribution of beer in the 21st century. Given the imminent conclusion of a major contract brewing arrangement the site is not suitable for the company’s future requirements, particularly given the level of maintenance expenditure which will only increase as time goes by. We very much regret the likelihood of job losses but in order for the company to remain competitive in a very challenging sector there is no realistic alternative.

He concluded by saying “The proposed investment in the new brewery indicates Hydes continuing commitment to the brewing of great cask ales in Manchester. These changes will also allow for an increased management focus on the company’s pub estate and will accelerate plans for capital investment in refurbishments and the acquisition of new sites such as the John Millington in Cheadle and the Joshua Bradley in Gee Cross”.

The New CAMRA Website has been Launched

As you will be aware, the new-look CAMRA website has taken a long time to come online. Like all new web sites there will be things that some people like and others dislike. Therefore your feedback is important for CAMRA to continue with the development of this web site during 2012.

New Features:

Blog – there is a new simple blog that allows visitors to comment on blog messages from CAMRA representatives.

Current Poll – this will allow CAMRA to survey visitors on a number of fun and serious issues to help us with campaigning and PR.

Clearer Navigation – using just a top down menu bar will make navigation easier than the current site.

Better ‘Campaigning’ Promotion – the middle box of the top three areas will be dedicated to promoting our current campaigns and the ‘Getting Active’ button in the middle of the site will direct people to more Campaigning information. In time there will be more information in this area on Activation.

Improved ‘Join CAMRA’ Promotion – the right hand box of the top three areas will be dedicated to promoting membership.

Better promotion of the CAMRA Shop – A large button in the middle of the site dedicated to promoting the CAMRA Online Shop.

Better promotion of CAMRA’s Social Media – clearer links to CAMRA’s Facebook and Twitter.

Personalisation in the Members Area – this is one area CAMRA would like to develop further but a member will now receive a ‘Welcome’ message when they sign in, a box that is dedicated to highlighting who the members local branch contact is, Events Near You will inform the member of what is happening locally e.g. beer festivals.

What’s Brewing, BEER & The Campaigner areas – dedicated areas that will be regularly updated with Beer & Pub news that Members can follow.

As mentioned above, there are plenty of plans to continue developing this new site, one of which is to launch a new dedicated Volunteer Website later in 2012.

The address of the new website is the same – www.camra.org.uk and your feedback should be sent to websitefeedback@camra.org.uk.

The Return of Oldham Beer Festival

Following discussions with Oldham Mayor's Appeals Committee the Oldham beer festival is scheduled to return next year on 27th - 28th April 2012. More news will be posted as it becomes available!

Champion Beer of Britain Competition

Nominations are required for entrants into the Champion Beer of Britain Area competitions. The winners from these area competitions will then be put forward as finalists into the Champion Beer of Britain national competitions held at the Great British Beer Festival and the National Winter Ales Festival.

The first stage is for CAMRA members in the Greater Manchester region to submit their own nominations for the champion beer. This year the online voting system www.cbobvoting.org.uk will be used nationally and all the results collated by each branch.

In the NorthWest CBOB Area, members are able to use www.cbobvoting org.uk between 1st January and 29th Febuary 2012.

To use www.cbobvoting.org.uk enter your membership number and password. Unless you have changed your password, then it will be your postcode, without any spaces. The system will work out which branch and CBOB area you are in, and give you a set of menus so you can vote for our eligible beers.

If you have friends who are CAMRA members who want to make nominations but do not have access to the internet, then any member of your branch committee can enter a proxy vote on their behalf, giving the membership number and name of the person they are entering nominations for. Visit your local branch's website for details of who you can contact.

Once the nomination period has ended the top five candidates in each beer styles category will go forward for judging.

A few notes on beer eligibility:

Only breweries which were operating before 1st October 2011 are eligible.
Other than Real Ale in a Bottle, beers are categorised based on the Original Gravity (OG) of the beer not the ABV, therefore only beers for which the OG have been supplied are included on the eligible beer list.
Beers must be available for 3 months or more every year
The style category assigned to a beer is chosen based on the CAMRA Style Guidelines.

Voting will start at the beginning of January 2012 and run until the end of February 2012.

Manchester Pub Guide

Manchester Pub Guide Cover

It is almost six years since CAMRA last published a guide to the city's pubs, during which time the availability and choice of cask ale across the city has grown. Institutions like the 200 year old Britons Protection now share the city with numerous young upstarts with the café bar revolution that started in the Northern Quarter now spreading across the city.

The new Manchester Pub Guide is the first to be published in full colour throughout and is packed with colour photographs of many of the city's most notable and historic pubs.

See the Manchester Pub Guide page for details of how to pre-order and buy this publication.

Pre-Register for CAMRA Members' Weekend & AGM

Next year's Members' Weekend and AGM will take place at the Riviera Centre in Torquay on 30th March - 1st April 2012. Although Torquay is not established for real ale like other areas of the country, it boasts a large number of good quality pubs both in Torquay and the surrounding area, including Good Beer Guide pub, Hole in the Wall.

As you will know from being an attendee of Sheffield AGM 2011, the Weekend is where our members discuss our future policy and direction, and offers you the opportunity to socialise with friends, visit recommended pubs and go on organised trips.

With Torquay being a classical English seaside resort with 22 miles of coastline, consisting of coves, cliffs and beaches, you may wish to make the most of the Weekend and visit these local attractions. Alternatively, the Dartmoor National Park is not too far away which promises fantastic scenery, walks and pubs.

You can pre-register your interest online today. As a pre-registered member you will receive the Members' Weekend Handbook before the event.

Joint Members: Please note that you must both log in and register individually.

Closing date for pre-registration is Thursday 1st March 2012.

For more information please visit: www.camra.org.uk/agm

Ask your MP to Support Pubco Reform and Save Pubs

A group of powerful MPs on the Business Select Committee has backed CAMRA's call for the large pub companies to provide genuine free of tie options and guest beer rights to their lessees, and to comply with a legally enforceable code of practice backed by an adjudicator.

The Government has previously promised to back the Committee's findings and so we are getting close to meaningful action to rein in the conduct of the large pub companies. This will result in better pubs, better value for money and fewer pub closures. These reforms are crucial to ensure small brewers can get their beers into local pubs.

Nine out of the fourteen pubs closing each week are tied pubs and new research from the ippr think tank has found that tied pubs are much more likely to be facing financial difficulties.

Please take just 2 minutes to send a pre-written email to your MP asking them to back the Business Select Committee recommendations. Go to CAMRA Campaigning website and help save our pubs. The campaign can be used by the general public as well as CAMRA members, so do feel free to share the link with your friends and communities.

Cask Report 2011-12

The Cask Report is written annually by beer writer Pete Brown and backed by CAMRA, SIBA, Cask Marque, IFBB, and major British brewers, shows how real ale continues the outperform the overall UK beer market, with signs that the category is moving back into growth this year.

Headline figures of the Report include:

2,500 new pubs and clubs started to sell cask ale last year - a 4% increase in distribution
A total of 7.8 million people drink cask ale in the UK - an 11% increase since 2007. One in five people who drink alcohol will drink cask ale at some point
The number of 18-24 year old cask ale drinkers increased for the second year running and the number of women drinkers has doubled since 2008
Cask ale is recruiting new drinkers: 37% of current drinkers tried it for the first time within the last 10 years and 10% within the past 12 months

The Cask Report 2011-12 PDF Doc .

CAMRA Welcomes New IPPR Report

Tied Down: The Beer Tie and its Impact on Britain's Pubs CAMRA has welcomed a new report published by the Institute of Public Policy Research (ippr) - "Tied Down: The Beer Tie and its Impact on Britain's Pubs" PDF Doc .

The report confirms CAMRA's concerns that the beer tie is contributing to the closure of 25 pubs every week. Following extensive research including a survey of more than 550 publicans, the report concludes that:

Tied publicans earn significantly less than free of tie publicans
Tied publicans are much more likely to say they are struggling financially
Tied publicans who are struggling financially see the beer tie as one of the most significant factors in contributing to their financial problems

The report also details how the current operation of the tie by pub companies limits the commercial freedoms of tied publicans, and means that they have to pay more for beer than free of tie operators. CAMRA believes that this is the underlying reason as to why tied lessees are unable to compete with free of tie pubs on prices, and subsequently struggle to make profit and can be forced to close.

The IPPR report calls on the Government to act to reform the way the industry operates. The report also considers it seriously concerning that a significant proportion of publicans are being put under serious financial pressure. These statements are particularly relevant in light of the current Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee investigation into pub companies. The Committee, who met in late June and early July, are currently deliberating whether statutory intervention is necessary to secure meaningful reform of the beer tie, following written and oral evidence from key industry stakeholders including CAMRA.

Misrepresenting Real Ale Images

CAMRA Members are still being urged to complain to media sources which run stories on binge drinking or alcohol related violence but the accompanying photographs seem to focus on what appears to be real ale or a bar with handpumps displayed. CAMRA Members felt that since the problem mainly relates to folk who get tanked up at home before going to pubs or to youngsters drinking cheap alcopops on street corners and that the use of images showing real ale were misleading and damaging CAMRA image as a promoter of responsible drinking.

Many CAMRA members from various branches within the region complained to the media about misleading images so if you see an article containing an image that seems to link real ale with binge drinking or some other alcohol problem, be it on TV, in the newspapers or online then please raise a complaint with the publisher.

Then let us know who you complained to and their response as we will be submitting details of all complaints and responses to the CAMRA HQ Press Office who are collating details of the replies.

Axe the Beer Tax

Britain's pubs are under severe and sustained pressure. Sales of beer in pubs are now at their lowest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and 25 pubs are closing every week.

Pubs are closing at the rate of 25 per week, as the trade continues to face tough conditions in all parts of Britain, according the British Beer & Pub Association. The BBPA says that with the right policies, the beer and pub sector, which employs almost 1 million people, could play a leading role in bringing the economy out of recession.

While the closure rate has slowed from the previous year's 40 per week, there were almost 1,300 fewer pubs in Britain by the end of 2010. With a typical pub employing around ten people, this represents a net loss of jobs of around 13,000 across the country. Pubs are closing in every part of England, as well as in Scotland and Wales. The rate of losses is highest in London and the North West, though all regions are suffering a decline.

This campaign aims to give a voice to ordinary British pub-goers and consumers, and send a strong message to Whitehall and Westminster that we've had enough.
The main demands of the campaign is to:

axe plans to increase beer tax even further
enforce existing laws – not create new ones - to deal firmly with irresponsible drinkers and premises
end the irresponsible promotion of alcohol in supermarkets, pubs and elsewhere
trust responsible adults to make informed choices about what they drink, not punish them for the actions of an irresponsible minority
support the British pub as a vital part of social life in local communities

Please join our campaign. Go to www.axethebeertax.com and sign up as a supporter.

Find a Pub in Manchester

The Manchester Pub Guide

The guide will be published November 2011

112 pages in a convenient narrow format (130mm x 210mm)
Full details of 140 cask ale pubs in the city centre & beyond
Listings for all other pubs in the city centre
Full colour throughout
Clear and concise colour maps throughout

See our Manchester Pub Guide page for further information.

Find a Pub By Tram

Pubs by Tram - City to Altrincham

Pubs by Tram - South Manchester Line

Find a Good Beer Guide Pub

The Good Beer Guide 2012

Complete entries for over 4,500 urban and rural pubs, giving details of regular beers, food, opening hours, beer gardens and more.

Fully revised and updated every year by thousands of CAMRA members across the country. Now includes Places Index - Search by town/city, making it even easier to find a great real ale pub!

Unique brewery section listing all the real ale breweries in the UK - micro, regional and national - complete with tasting notes for their beers.

Informative features section, with articles on pubs, beer and brewing, as well as beer festival listings from around the country.

Good Beer Guide Hardcopy
Buy direct from CAMRA and you'll be helping to fund the campaign for great quality ale, pubs and consumer rights.
£10.00* (members) or
£12.99* (non-members) RRP £15.99

Good Beer Guide Mobile and Sat Nav
The Good Beer Guide is also availble for your mobile - iPhone App only £4.99, Android App and other versions £5.00
Good Beer Guide on Sat Nav £5.00

Good Beer Guide E-Book
The e-book provides all the benefits of searchable, adaptable and portable digital content while also making it readable in real size and fully interactive, taking advantage of GPS, mobile and internet connectivity (where the e-reader allows) to bring exciting new features to the guide.
Please note: The Good Beer Guide ePub version (inc iBook) will be released soon.
Good Beer Guide 2012 - Kindle Edition

Find a Cask Marque Pub

Cask Marque Logo

You can now find a Cask Marque pub using your computer, Smartphone, by text or by Sat Nav (Tom Tom or Garmin). The website, Smartphone applications and Sat Nav are all FREE. Text cost 25p.

Website
Cask Marque website

Smartphone Apps

Android

iPhone

Smartphone features:

Find Cask Marque pubs, either by searching or automatically find pubs near you with the GPS function
See what beers were on sale last time Cask Marque visited
See the Cyclops tasting notes of those beers
Scan bottled beers and view Cyclops descriptors
Find similar beers
Rate beers
View all beers brewed by Cyclops registered brewers
View forthcoming beer festivals
Read Pete Brown's highly acclaimed beer blog

Sat Nav Downloads for Tom Tom and Garmin
Cask Marque Website
Provides directions to all Cask Marque pubs.

Text
All Cask Marque accredited pubs* are listed on the Cask Marque text messaging database which allows consumers to find their two nearest accredited pubs from anywhere in the UK whilst on the move. Follow the simple steps below:

Text cask
Followed by a full stop
Then where (town** or FULL postcode). e.g. cask.co49ht
Send it to 60300
You will receive back the 2 nearest outletstext_front_2010

Texts cost 25p plus your standard operator rate. To stop, text cask stop to 60300 at any time. Numbers will be retained for future Cask Marque announcements but will never be passed to 3rd party companies.

* Excluding The Channel Islands
** If you enter a town name then two random pubs in this area will be selected. To ensure the two nearest pubs appear then you must use the full postcode.

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Greater Manchester - Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)