A selection of photos from Mid Anglia events and social trips

Seven Go To Colchester - October 2024

Mid Anglia branch outing to Colchester from Diss station on Saturday 26th October

We set off on a busy train which became very full of people in blue shirts who seemed very excited at the prospect of watching some men kicking a ball around.

From Colchester North station we got the slow train to Colchester town and a short walk to the Purple Dog, an old building in a shopping street with a small selection of beers. Most of us were on the dark side with Colchester Raven. A good beer but too cold for me. Then a bit of a trek to the Odd One Out, unfortunately it has odd opening times – not until 1.00pm and we didn’t want to wait half an hour so wandered around and came across the Abbey Arms. It was open but the dentally challenged man who came to the door to welcome us said they had no real ale but could offer us a bottle of Doom Bar – no thanks. He told us the New Inn was closed so we went to the New Inn which was open. Only two beers, neither to my taste but I suffered a pint of Lacons (Phantom I think). One of the Mikes had a mishap with his pint and had a big wet patch on the front of his trousers – a source of much merriment! Sausage rolls were in the oven so we waited for them. Just as well as that was the only food we came across all day. It is often said pubs can’t survive without selling food – not so in Colchester it seems.

Then through a hidden alleyway to the Fat Cat. Realised we had lost Des. The typical Fat Cat pub with bare floors and plain tables and chairs. 6 or so beers on gravity plus some Belgian bottles, one of which Mike (other Mike) had and declared very tasty. I had the Fat Cat Norwich bitter which was good. Des appeared – he had taken a different route and went to the Ale house over the road. We then all went to the Ale House. A large, very friendly pub with a good selection of beers on handpump. I had a good pint of Ale House bitter but they wouldn’t tell us who brews it.

On then to the Victoria – another large pub with a good selection of more unusual beers. I tried a Marble Mild which was good, and a quick half of something else I can’t remember. I was tempted by the fish and chip shop over the road but managed to hold out.

Finally, heading to the station, we were attracted to the Magnet – a crowded micro pub with a small selection of beers. Mauldons Special was good. Tempted to try the Bricklayers but decided not to risk missing the train. Headed home pleasantly mellow (but hungry).

C.M.

CAMRA Beer Awards Presentation to Grain Brewery October 2024

The Grain Brewery, based in Alburgh near Harleston, won two awards in this years CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain - East Anglia Region. The certificates were presented to Phil Halls (below, left) by Mid Anglia CAMRA pub co-ordinator, Dave Wilkins, at the Plough in Norwich on the 18th October.

MAC trip to Cambridge August 2024

Sadly only 4 Mid Anglia members were tempted by the prospect of a stroll around some of the finer pubs of Cambridge, but our small group had a very good afternoon.

Emerging from the railway station we had a short walk to the first pub, The Live and Let Live. As we stood outside we heard the door being unlocked and we were in. A deceptively roomy interior with much traditional panelling and 4 beers. The Pheasantry Lincoln Tank Ale (a new beer to me) was excellent – especially as the first pint of the day. The pub has some old pumpclips on display and lots of conkers!

A short walk to the 6 Bells which sadly was not open in spite of a clear sign outside announcing open from 12.00 every day, so a longer walk to the Free Press, another very traditional corner pub with 2 main seating areas and real outside toilets! 8 handpumps and the TT Landlord was in good form.

Then the Tram Depot – a very good redesign of an industrial building – large but plenty of character. 5 beers including Everards Tiger and Old Original – I haven’t drunk that for many years and it was very good.

Onwards to the RAD. A small stainless steel and plastic décor place with a wall full of keg taps and 2 taps dispensing cask ales – not sure how they were dispensed. Milton Nero was OK. This was totally different to the other pubs we visited – an acquired taste but I won’t be acquiring it!

A short stroll to the Champion of the Thames (Cambridgeshire POTY 2024). 5 or 6 beers on – I had a Wolf beer (can’t remember which) very good. Another traditional pub – quite small with two adjoining rooms. Here we dined on sausage rolls and pork pies. Emerging from the Gents David found himself behind the bar (an easy mistake to make as I found out later!)

Our last pub, the Maypole. A popular pub with, I think, 2 bar areas, quite light and spacious with a large outside drinking area. 8 hand pumps but I am ashamed to admit I was feeling the pressure and opted for a tomato juice (long gone are the days when I could do 12 pubs and remain standing).

Bus to the station and home. Thanks to Robert for being our guide.

We will do more trips in the future and I hope a few more members will join us for a wander round good pubs in good company.

C. M.

MAC trip to Norwich July 2024

The long awaited summer finally arrived in time to coincide with our trip to Norwich on Saturday 20th July. Members met at the Gardeners Arms on Timber Hill, more commonly referred to as The Murderers, a rather gruesome nickname given to the pub after the murder in 1895 of the landlady's daughter by her estranged husband. There are up to a dozen real ales on offer, with quite a few of us opting for the Moongazer Stotart Caramel Stout. A short bus journey took us out to The Hop Rocket on Unthank Road - a fairly recent addition to the city, opened by the owners of the ever popular Brewery Tap. There was an interesting selection of around eight real ales that you don't often see elsewhere in the area, plus 12 keg lines and various ciders, served from the large, Victorian style bar. Moving on, we wandered up to The Garden House on the corner of Pembroke Road which always offers an impressive selection of around 14 real ales, mostly served straight from the cask, with something to suit all tastes. The large beer garden out the back was a real bonus.

Onwards to the Alexandra Tavern, an unspoilt, traditional corner pub on Stafford Street, offering a small, but well kept selection of local beers. It also provided a much needed food break for some of the group.

Another short walk up to the ever popular Fat Cat on West End Street and another chance to soak up the sun at the outside tables. There is always a huge choice of over 30 real ales, plus various keg beers and real ciders. An absolute gem of a pub and has, quite deservedly, been chosen as CAMRA's National Pub of The Year twice. The beer was on top form as usual.

Picking up a bus on the nearby Dereham Road, we were dropped off just beyond the Lollards Pit on Riverside Road, our final destination for the afternoon. The name derives from another rather grisly aspect of Norwich's history, as this was formerly the execution site of religious heretics (known as Lollards) who were burnt at the stake during the 15th and 16th centuries. The pub was built in the 17th century and is believed to have been the first pub in Norwich to have been built outside the old city walls. Up to six real ales are available and a discount is available for CAMRA members. From here, it was a short walk back to the station to catch the train home to Diss. A thoroughly enjoyable day with great beer, superb pubs and excellent company.

MAC trip to Great Yarmouth June 2024

A few of our members took the train to Great Yarmouth on Saturday 1st June and are pictured below at the Blackfriars Tavern which was recently voted as the overall winner of Norfolk Pub of the Year 2024. The Mariners, Red Herring, Troll Cart and Tombstone Brewery pub were also visited during the afternoon.

CAMRA awards presentations May and June 2024

The Ampersand Brewery in Diss and Grain Brewery at Alburgh were recently presented with certificates for recent CAMRA beer awards. On the 25th of May, branch members presented two awards to Ampersand from the inaugural Champion Canned Beer of Norfolk competition which was introduced to highlight this growing form of real ale. Ampersand won 1st for their Experiments in Evil Imperial Stout and 3rd place for Camphillsner Lager.

Grain Brewery won three awards, with certificates being presented by the branch on the 14th June. The ever popular Lignum Vitae was judged to be the winner of the IPA's category and also overall winner in the Norfolk Cask Beer of the Year 2024 awards. It was the runner up in the IPA's category of the Norfolk Bottled Beer of The Year 2024 competition too. Congratulations to both Grain and Ampersand!

Mid Anglia CAMRA Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year & Club of the Year 2024 Presentations

A roundup of the certificate presentations for the Mid Anglia branch area Pubs and Club of the Year 2024. Our overall branch pub of the year was awarded to Kenninghall Red Lion - an absolute gem of a country pub and a well attended afternoon with a good turn out of branch members and customers to support the pub. The presentation was made to Mandy Berry by our chairman on the 20th April.

The Mid Anglia branch Cider Pub of the Year has been won, once again, by the Fox Inn at Garboldisham - a very worthy winner who always have a superb range of real ciders on offer. The presentation was made by Dave Wilkins to one of the many volunteers at the Fox Inn on the 13th April.

And last, but not least, our branch Club of the Year has been awarded to the excellent Carleton Rode Sports and Social Club for the second year in a row. Another worthy winner! The presentation was made by Dave Huddart to Social Club chairman Tim.

Mid Anglia Branch Pub Survey - February 24th 2024

Eight of our members set off in a minibus to survey six pubs within our region on the afternoon of the 24th of February. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon visiting some superb watering holes, including the Red Lion at Kenninghall (pictured below during the trip), which has been named as our branch Pub of the Year 2024.

Presentation of Champion Beer of Britain Awards to Grain Brewery 27th October 2023

Grain Brewery scooped two awards in the Champion Beer of Britain (East Anglia Area) this year. They won Gold for Lignum Vitae in the British & New World IPA's category, and Silver for Slate in the Strong Stouts & Porters category. Our chairman presented Phil Halls with the certificates at the Brewery Tap on Friday 27th October.

A few of our members were in attendance as a "Meet the Brewer" event was also being held, with Alan Thompson from Old Chimneys, with a chance to taste the latest batch of his collaboration brew with Grain, Good King Henry V. Superb stuff it was too!

Mid Anglia CAMRA Social Trip to Norwich 14th October 2023

A few of our members made the trip to Norwich by train or bus on Saturday 14th of October to visit a few pubs in the centre, and just south of the city. Organised by our chaiman, David, an enjoyable afternoon was had by all. The first pub on the list was The Murderers and then onwards to The Kings Arms, The Trafford Arms, The Coachmakers Arms, The Fat Cat & Canary, finishing the day at the Coach & Horses.

Mid Anglia CAMRA Pub of the Year, Cider Pub of the Year & Club of the Year 2023 Presentations

A roundup of our presentation of certificates for our Pubs of the Year 2023. Mid Anglia CAMRA voted the Ampersand Brewery Tap in Diss as our overall Pub of The Year and a group of our members turned out for the presentation of the certificate to bar manager Stuart Morrison on the 5th August.

Our Club of the Year 2023 is The Carleton Rode Social Club and the certificate was presented to the team over there on the 2nd of September.

Garboldisham Fox Inn was voted as our Cider Pub of the Year for the fifth year in a row! The presentation of their certificate was made by the branch chairman on the 15th September.

Congratulations to all three and many thanks to our members who came along to the presentations to lend their support.

Tour of Grain Brewery - July 15th 2023

A branch social trip on the 15th July saw 12 of our members travelling over to Grain at Alburgh for tour of the brewery with a few beers afterwards in the Brewery Taproom. Phil Halls gave us an informative tour of their brewing process with a couple of tasting afterwards - many thanks to him for having us over there. We spent a couple of enjoyable hours sitting outside in the sunshine, chatting and sampling a few of the excellent Grain offerings from the taproom beside the brewery.

Harleston Beer Festival - June 17th 2023

Mid Anglia CAMRA were invited along to this years' Harleston Beer Festival to judge the best beers of the weekend. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it! It was an extremely well organised event with a superb selection of 30 real ales on offer and the weather was largely very kind. After much deliberation, we ended up with three clear winners.

Winning the GOLD award for the best beer of the festival was "Cowella" from the Ampersand Brew Co.

Winning the SILVER award was "Lignum Vitae" from the Grain Brewery.

Winning the BRONZE award was "Banjo Hill" from Bull of the Woods.

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone involved in organising the festival.

Mid Anglia Social Trip to Cambridge - Saturday April 22nd 2023

Members enjoyed a day out in Cambridge by train on Saturday April 22nd 2023. The pubs visited were: Devonshire Arms, Cambridge Blue, Alexandra Arms, Free Press, Live & Let LIve and Cambridge Station. The motley crew below:

Social Trip to Beccles - Saturday 1st April 2023

There was a good turnout for the branch social trip to Beccles by bus from Diss - pubs visited were: The KIngs Head, The Butchers Arms and the Caxton Sports & Social Club. There was a stop off on the way back to Diss at the ever excellent Broome Artichoke on the way back (picture below).

Good Beer Guide & WhatPub Research Trip - Saturday 18th February 2023

Our intrepid team set out by minibus to explore a selection of the more rural pubs within our branch area for updating the Good Beer Guide.

Ampersand Brewery Tour and Award Presentation - November 26th 2022

There was a huge turn out for a brewery tour down at Ampersand in Diss (over 20 of us!). Stuart gave us a detailed run through the brewing process at Ampersand, the ingredients they use and guided us through the the tasting of three of their beers. Many said it was one of the best brewery tours they have ever been on. We were also there to present Ampersand with the bronze award for their "Cocow" chocolate milk stout in the Champion Beers of Britain 2022 (East Anglia Area). Congratulations and many thanks to Ampersand.

Branch Brewery Tour & Social Trip to Bungay - 14th May 2022

On Saturday 14th of May, branch members enjoyed a social trip over to Bungay by bus. We started with a tour of the Green Dragon Brewery, situated behind the pub of the same name in the town. After sampling a pint or two in the pub, we headed the the Chequers Inn and the Fleece. It was back on the bus and out to Broome Artichoke, followed by a visit to Earsham Queens Head before heading back to Diss on the bus. The photos below were taken at the Green Dragon.