Newark Winter Beer Festival Trip

Saturday 29th January 2011

Nine of us set off in sub-zero temperatures to make our way to Newark, choosing to go via Leicester, Nottingham & Grantham. It takes about two and a half hours to get to there by train, but the 3 changes help to relieve the boredom.

The 3rd Winter Festival is organised to the usual high standards by Newark CAMRA and takes place in the very grand Town Hall.There were 37 ales listed including many winter ales & stouts, despite that the range of ABVs was from 3.6% to 6.0% so there was something for everyone. There were also 10 ciders & perries listed.

After a suitable period of quaffing we decided to move to a local pub for some lunch. The Fox & Crown was our choice. This had the added bonus of being a Castle Rock pub, so it accepted CAMRA 'Spoons vouchers. The Harvest Pale took a bit of a bashing, but there was also Hemlock available from Castle Rock. The beer was excellent & various portions of Beef Stew, Faggots, etc. were soon consumed. Our next choice of pub was one that everyone was keen to experience; it is a new pub opened by 4 CAMRA members, called Just Beer. As the name implies it concentrates on selling real ales - no lagers or keg beers, no alcopops & spirits. There are no slot machines and no jukebox; the accent is on enjoying your drink and talking to fellow customers. There was a good selection of ales available, but I can't remember what and I forgot to take a photo - must go back again!

The last pub of the day was the Prince Rupert which has just been voted the Newark CAMRA Pub of the Year and you can see why. Formerly called the Woolpack this historic building dates back to around 1452 and has been lovingly restored over the last 18 months. It is a sister pub to the Toby Norris in Stamford. If you are in Newark, it's worth detour just to look at the building, let alone drink the beers!

We caught a train home at about 6pm - just another two and a half hours back to Hinckley. Despite the amout of time it takes to get to (and from) Newark, it is well worth the effort. It is a pleasant town with some lovely buildings, a thriving market, many independent shops and some excellent pubs.

Words by Alan
Photos by Alan & David Miller