On a cold Tuesday in December, then, a bunch of CAMRA members made their way to the Original Oak in Headingley to hand over just such an award. The reason? The Oak, a long-standing keggery, introduced real ale over the summer. Initially this was Marston’s Pedigree, but the range is now expanding with beers from Shepherd Neame on offer on award night.

More about this in issue 112!

The firkin was made by North Yorkshire’s Theakston Brewery cooper, Jonathan Manby, as a demonstration at September’s Keighley Beer Festival. Theakston’s is one of only two Yorkshire breweries still delivering ale in wooden casks; Old Peculier was available at Keighley Beer Festival “from the wood”.  Each wooden barrel takes around two to three hours to produce and has a life span of 30 to 40 years.

“It’s a rare treat to own a traditionally made wooden cask. They are truly works of art”, said Ian.  Ian was presented with the firkin by Theakston brewery boss, Simon Theakston.  Ian thanked him with a donation to The Cure Parkinson’s Trust, Theakston’s chosen charity.

Here we have proof that New Full Measure has influential readers.  Pictured reading the last issue outside the Houses of Parliament is Leeds North West MP, Greg Mulholland.  Greg is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group and also an Executive Member of the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group.

Greg was a prominent member of the campaign to save the Summercross in Otley, and is supporting CAMRA’s campaign to keep Tetley’s cask ales in Leeds.  Like CAMRA, he has been trying to get some straight answers out of Carlsberg on the future of the beers, and in particular on whether that future lies in Leeds.

He has recently commented: “It is time that powers that be at Tetley’s are straight with everyone about the future of Tetley’s in Leeds.”

“Sadly, the closure of the brewery is a money making decision but I see no reason why they couldn’t open up a smaller brewery in the city which would continue to make the three cask beers in their portfolio and keep Tetley’s an iconic Leeds brand.

“This decision affects a lot of people in Leeds and it needs to be made out in the open rather than behind closed doors.”

We completely agree.  If Carlsberg do not want to brew Tetley’s in Leeds (and it appears that they don’t), they should give the chance to brew it to someone else.  The release of Northern Cracker shows that they are proud of the brewing team they have in Leeds – why not let them have a crack at it?

Many of the closed pubs are boarded up and starting to look derelict and the fear is that once the property market starts to pick up again these will either be demolished or converted to other uses such as flats or shops. Some examples are highlighted below.

The Travellers in Halton has been demolished and another much needed supermarket is to be built on the site. It is only a few years since the Irwin Arms just down the road was demolished again to be replaced by a supermarket and this just leaves the Woodman as the only watering hole for the residents of this part of Halton. They have plenty of supermarkets, however.

The Wise Owl

In Armley there is a sad litany of closed pubs. On Town Street both the Barleycorn and Royal Hotel are boarded up. Three pubs in a row are closed down on Armley Road; the Nelson has been up for sale for many months, the Golden Lion has been closed for several years and the Rose and Crown is now an electrical wholesale shop. Down in Wortley the White Rose has been breeze-blocked up from the inside (we can only hope the person doing it got out!) and the Crown on Tong Road was also closed at the time of writing. The Wheatsheaf on Gelderd Road has also been closed for a couple of years.

Over in Sheepscar, Leeds CAMRA has been fighting an unsuccessful campaign to preserve the White Stag, which is on CAMRA’s Regional Inventory for pubs with historical interiors and it now looks as if it will be demolished and replaced by a warehouse for a Chinese supermarket. To the north in Chapel Allerton the Shoulder of Mutton is now being used as a taxi office.

Meanwhile in Kirkstall the George IV has been closed for a number of years and round the corner the future of the Kirkstall Lites is unlikely to be as a pub; boarding has been put up surrounding the premises, often a sign of demolition to come. In Woodhouse the Swan with Two Necks is being converted to flats and up in Ireland Wood the Wise Owl has been demolished to make way for a health centre.

The Swan with Two Necks, Woodhouse

The campaign to save the Summercross in Otley has been previously been highlighted in New Full Measure; planning permission has been granted for a care home, but no work has yet been seen on the site. The campaign continues, see www.sosotley.org.uk for details. Elsewhere in Otley both the Bowling Green and Woolpack have been closed for a long time and several other pubs are under threat. The Fleece and the Cross Pipes are both currently closed, their future uncertain.

From a pub preservation point of view there is currently much concern with regard to the future of the Rising Sun on Kirkstall Road. This is closed at the time of writing and has a fine example of an intact Victorian interior. It is listed on CAMRA’s National Inventory of historic pub interiors.

Many other pubs are under threat and CAMRA will attempt to preserve as many as possible, but it is a huge task. Please use your local pub if you want it to stay open.

It was with some trepidation, then, that I received an invitation from Leeds University Union’s Real Ale Society. “There is a Beer Fest in the Old Bar”, they said. “Come and have a look!”, they urged. Now, your editor is always up for new experiences and challenges, so at 4pm on a
Friday I am waiting outside the Union Building. Everyone seems to be in normal clothing, so I stuff my Batman costume in my bag and await my guides.

We enter, and descend to the Old Bar, and the surprises start. The bar is long, and there is a promising sprinkling of hand-pumps along it. At one end is the temporary bar for the Beer Festival, with more pumps and some real cider behind. The friendly chap behind the Festival Bar is handicapped by not having any glasses to put our beer in, but this is quickly resolved and some Leeds Brewery Winter Spark is handed over. It’s rather good, and also rather cheap.

A stroll along the bar reveals quite a choice. The Black Sheep Rep has clearly been in, with Black Sheep’s Best Bitter, Golden Sheep and Black Sheep Ale on the bar. They even have one of those flashy new illuminated pumps. Acorn must have called too: Sovereign and Barnsley Bitter are present. Copper Dragon have chipped in with Golden Pippin and Challenger IPA, and there’s also some Abbeydale Absolution and some Wentworth Bumblebeer. Some of these are here just for the festival, but I’m assured that many are permanent fixtures.

The beer list for the festival shows me what’s to come. There are to be beers from Roosters, Kelham Island, York, Ossett, Fuzzy Duck, Anglo-Dutch and Fernandes. The last one causes a double-take; the Fernandes beer is to be their Malt Shovel Mild. Someone is going to sell mild in a bar full of students? Blimey.

By this time, I’m well on with a pint of Acorn Sovereign, and I’m not surprised that the cider list includes a perry. Three real ciders and a perry are on offer; I’m prepared to bet that Janet’s Jungle Juice sold quite well.

I learn that the best way to keep up with what’s being sold in the Old Bar is to check the Real Ale Society’s Facebook page. As I write this, the choice is apparently Roosters YPA, Leeds Best, Fuzzy Duck Cunning Stunt, Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, Coppergate and Bradfield Jack-O-Lantern. That’s a range to rival most of the pubs in town!

I’m told that non-members are welcome in the Old Bar until 6pm in the evening, when the Union becomes a members’ club. You should still be able to get in after that, but you’ll need to find a friendly student to sign you in.

On leaving the Union, I find myself refreshed. I’ve had a few pints of rather good beer in pleasant surroundings. I’ve also met students happily enjoying some decent beer, appreciating the quality of some local real ale.

And none of them were wearing fancy dress!

The Manor House, Otley

Our first Pub of the Moment this time is something of an outpost. An outpost of the Lancashire-based Thwaites Brewery estate, the Manor House is hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Otley. It’s on Walkergate. Near the Maypole. Keep walking past the library and you’ll find the place.

The Manor House sits in a terrace of houses. Presumably it was once several rooms, but it’s been opened out over the years. There are still nooks and crannies to hide away in, though. There’s a real fire in the winter months, and an outdoor area for the summer. The latter doubles as a smoking zone.

On the bar are beers from Thwaites. The brewery recently renamed its mild as Nutty Black, but it’s still Dark Mild in the Manor House. Also available are the rest of the Thwaites range: Original, Wainwright and Lancaster Bomber. All are always in excellent condition.
There are plenty of reasons to call in. There are weekly quizzes and draws, various entertainment, and free nibbles are sometimes provided. Dogs are welcome, too.

The Manor House is on Walkergate in Otley. The phone number is 01943 463807.

Arcadia, Headingley

A quick mention for a second Pub of the Moment, Arcadia. This is our choice because, like New Full Measure, Arcadia has recently become bigger and better!

Arcadia has been expanded into the adjacent shop. The extension is on two levels, and provides extra seating downstairs and off the mezzanine floor upstairs. A second welcome addition is a downstairs toilet for the less mobile.

The bar itself is the same size as before, but now it’s much easier to get to as more folk are able to sit down with their drinks! The usual eight beers are on the bar, along with the selection of continental beers on draught and in bottles.

The extra seating also means that the food service times have been extended. Food is now available 12-2:30 and 5-8 on Thursdays and Fridays, 12-8 on Saturdays and 1-4 on Sundays.

Arcadia remains a welcome oasis in Headingley for those adults who fancy a drink in reasonable peace and quiet. And now more of them can join in!

The brewery’s popular light session beer Mary Jane won the gold medal in the Bitters and Pale Ales category beating 56 other brews from breweries across the north of England to top spot. Mary Jane was originally brewed as a summer special but has become the brewery’s most popular brew and is now a permanent feature on many bars.

Mary Jane (you remember, her as was being courted bar t’at on the moor) is a light crisp hoppy beer made with Amarillo hops giving it a refreshing citrus character. At an Alcohol by Volume (ABV) of 3.5% it’s an ideal session beer. It’s also had the seal of approval from no less an authority than celebrity chef (and CAMRA member) Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, seen here at the Ilkley Literature Festival.

Ilkley Brewery’s beers can now be sampled in many pubs throughout the region including locally at Bar t’at and The Riverside Hotel in Ilkley, The Wheatley Arms in Ben Rhydding, the Swan in Addingham, the Queens Head in Burley in Wharfedale and The Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey. In Leeds they’ve been seen in Mr Foley’s.

More information on both cask and bottled beers is available on the company’s website at www.ilkleybrewery.co.uk or give them a call on 01943 604604.

1.Preheat your oven to 200c
2.Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb, and sugar. To this, add Nutmeg and Cinnamon. Melt your butter and leave to cool. Get your orange, and squeeze the juice into a jug, then add milk until you get about 150ml. Add the (cooled) butter, milk and orange to the mix and then add the egg and beat. Don’t be worried about lumps in the mix – this actually makes better muffins!
3.Fold in the fruit and scoop into muffin cases.
4.Sprinkle a little Demerara sugar onto the top of each muffin and bake for about 20 minutes.
These muffins can be a great accompaniment for warming, fruity beers such as Theaktson’s Old Peculier – especially as the nights are dark and cold now. The spices in the muffins perfectly compliment the complexity of deeper, richer beers that are abundant at this time of year.

By now it is well known that Carlsberg plan to close the Joshua Tetley brewery in Leeds some time before 2011. Presumably Carlsberg are making plans for this, and one thing they must be thinking about is where Tetley’s will be brewed once the brewery is a pile of rubble.

Unsurprisingly, rumours are already circulating that Tetley’s is already brewed elsewhere. We asked Carlsberg about this, and they have categorically denied that any Tetley’s brewed anywhere other than Leeds has been seen in the trade. So that’s alright.

Tetley Mild and Dark Mild are a different matter, of course. Roger Protz, well known beer writer and editor of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide unearthed the news that these beers are being brewed for Carlsberg by Marston’s. This seems to be true; we’ve seen Tetley Dark Mild in a Marston’s cask in a Leeds pub. So where is this brewed? That’s not an easy question to answer. Marston’s have breweries all over the place; in Wolverhampton, Witney in Oxfordshire, Cockermouth in Cumbria, Burton-on-Trent, and Ringwood in Hampshire. None of these are especially close to Yorkshire. We asked Carlsberg if they could confirm which brewery Marston’s were using, but have not received a reply.

Better news is that a beer definitely coming out of Leeds is Northern Cracker. This is a rich dark beer, coming in at 4.3% ABV, and brewed for the Christmas season. It was launched at a trade show down at the Royal Armouries: “It is a fantastic product and underlines our commitment both to the Tetley’s brand and the cask ale category in the coming years,” said Isaac Sheps, Carlsberg UK chief executive (pictured right). “I am very proud of the brewing team in Leeds who have displayed such passion and expertise brewing such a great tasting product.” Let’s hope the team have a job after 2011, eh, Isaac?

Wetherspoon’s seems to be the best place to seek out Northern Cracker, with JD placing a sizeable order. We managed to sample some at the New Charnwood’s beer festival in Heckmondwicke. It was rather good, tasting something like a stronger version of Tetley Dark Mild. Let’s hope it finds its way into the pubs of Leeds over the next few weeks.

But let’s return to the main issue. When the Joshua Tetley Brewery is gone, where will Tetley Bitter be brewed? Let’s take down the New Full Measure crystal ball and look at the runners and riders.

To start, let’s assume that Carlsberg are serious about having the beer brewed in Yorkshire if possible. We are therefore looking for a brewery that can produce real ale and which has either a fair bit of spare capacity, or room to expand. Most of the micros in these parts are brewing at capacity, so we need to look for something a little bigger. The two likely candidates seem to be Black Sheep or Theakston’s, but space might be an issue at both their sites in Masham. A very outside bet might be Copper Dragon, who are expanding at a great rate, but would they want to?

The ideal solution for many Tet’s drinkers might be to let Leeds Brewery have a go. They’ve already proved that they can brew good beer, and you can almost see the Tetley brewery from their site. But do they have the space to expand?

But perhaps no brewery can be found in Yorkshire. What then? Perhaps we can learn something from the fate of other brews that used to be made at Leeds. The fate of these beers is always hard to track, because brewers tend to be a bit shy about the deals they do.
Many of the beers (Ansell’s, Greenall’s, Draught Burton Ale) formerly brewed at Tetley’s have made the trip over the Pennines to JW Lee’s; others have been reported to be brewed at one time or another by Thwaites. Some of the other bigger breweries over that side of the hills might also be interested – Hyde’s, perhaps? But Tetley’s brewed in Lancashire? That really is unthinkable.

Cast around a bit more for some outside chances. Coors (it’s complicated, but think of them as the outfit that used to be Bass) have farmed out some of their cask ales to Everard’s in Leicestershire, and have apparently also used Brain’s of Cardiff in the past. Brain’s were also believed to be brewing some of the “old” Carlsberg brands before they fetched up at Lee’s. Tetley’s brewed in Wales? That’s almost worse than Lancashire.

CAMRA says that Tetley’s should remain in Leeds. If Carlsberg don’t want to brew it, they should let someone else do it. We’re pretty sure that most Tetley drinkers agree.