Four pub beer festivals were held in Stafford during the Spring.

The Bird in Hand led the way at the end of April with an impressive 'range of 25 cask beers in marquees at the back of the Mill Street pub.

During the same weekend Wetherspoons held a beer festival in each of their pubs with the Picture House stocking twenty extra beers, a few of which were on at any one time.

Similarly, the Hogshead had 25 cask beers for their "Micro Beer Festival" from 20th to 29th May.

The Stafford Arms introduced pub beer festivals to Stafford nearly five years ago and their tenth festival took place at the Railway Street pub from 10th to 13th June. Forty real ales were on offer, about a third of them at any time, and the famous Boxley sausages were also very popular. The next beer festival at the Stafford Arms will be during the last weekend of August. Live music will again feature during the evenings.

The 26th Annual General Meeting of CAMRA Stafford and Stone Branch was recently held in the Stafford Arms. Chairman Graham Bell, Secretary Dave Hill and Treasurer Paul Mudge were all re-elected. The Branch meets in Central Staffordshire pubs on most Thursday evenings, and details are available from Dave on Stafford 663749 or Paul on Stafford 226529.

 

SHOULDER OF MUTTON, FULFORD

Ken and Cath Brayford are retiring from the Shoulder of Mutton at Fulford after 28 years in the licensed trade. Their warm welcome and excellent range of real ales will be sadly missed The Brayfords previously kept the nearby Hunter at Saverley Green and during the 1970s were at the Village Tavern in Wolstanton.

The Bradford Arms on the A5 at Ivetsy Bank has been bought by 'M.A.D. O'Rourke', who is best known for building up the Little Pub Company chain.

A Stafford town centre pub reopened on 14th June after being closed for more than a generation. The Noah's Ark, a former Butler's pub, is now owned by Kevin Smith who has extended it and given it a new name. 'The Surgery' recognises the building's links last century with medical man William Palmer, who was famous as the Rugeley Poisoner. A handpump had been installed at the Crabbery Street pub a week after opening, but Marstons Pedigree wasn't yet available.

Ron and Sharon Wilson are leaving the Bird in Hand, Stafford after twenty years of running the busy town centre pub. They will be remembered for developing 'The Bird' into one of the best pubs in town. Their efforts were recognised by regular listings in the Good Beer Guide and by winning the prestigious Stafford and Stone CAMRA Pub of the Year award for 1998. Ron and Sharon will be a hard act to follow.

The September-October l994 edition of Potters Bar (issue 70) was the first to feature news from the Stafford and Stone branch of CAMRA.

Five years have seen over 25,000 words of Central Staffordshire pub and brewery news being written for over fifty pages in nineteen edition of Potters Bar.

There has never been a dull moment!

SWAN BOUGHT

The Swan at Whiston, near Penkridge, has been bought by local resident Mr Muddle.

A couple of months ago it was widely rumoured that Wetherspoons were going to buy the Crown Hotel in Stone. It is however now understood that they are instead taking on the town's old Post Office building in GranvilIe Square

Peter Quirk of the Smithfield Hotel, Uttoxeter was recently presented with Burtonwood's Best Cellar Award for 1998-99. With a better cellar than Burtonwood's 450 other tenanted pubs, it is no surprise that the town centre pub features in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. Originally known as the Plume of Feathers, the Smithfield was first a pub in 1726. It has been kept by Peter Quirk since May 1995. It is situated at the corner of Smithfield Street and High Street and real ales regularly on sale are Burtonwood Forshaws and Top Hat and a guest beer.

A Yates's Wine Lodge opened in Stafford's Greengate Street on Monday 24th May. Bolton based Yates's have expanded rapidly in recent years and they now have over a hundred such Wine Lodges. Their Stafford outlet has been built on the site of the Brewbakers shop in the town centre. The frontage comprises a bright new ground floor with original features reproduced above. The inclusion of a small dance floor suggests that a late license will soon be sought. At the back of the pub is a beer garden - complete with outside toilets! Food is served daily until 7 pm. Publicity leaflets boast of "Good Times Guaranteed" and "Leading brands at leading prices". While man other pub groups, such as Wetherspoons and Hogshead, offer decent range of real ales, Yates's Stafford has just one cask beer Boddington's Bitter, which is brewed by Whitbread, is on sale at £1.25 pint

For many years May has been the month in which CAMRA has celebrated cask conditioned milds. It was therefore appropriate that at the beginning of May, albeit briefly, the Swan in Stone had three real milds on sale. They were Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild, Titanic Lifeboat and Coach House Gunpowder Mild. The historic Stafford Street pub is proving to be very popular, with many people having realised that it stocks the widest range of real ales in Stone. The Swan's first beer festival was scheduled for the middle of July.

Stafford & Stone Pub of the Month

Issue 88 Articles

Stoke Beer Festival Pub of the Month Potteries Pub Preservation Group Belgium in a Bottle Titanic News Pub News Other Articles

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