| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Organiser: |
Chris Stewart
|
| Group email: | BEER group |
| When: | Monthly Visits to local pubs once a month and to breweries once or twice a year. |
| Venue: | Various |
Is real ale dying? Did you know that 15,000 pubs have closed since 2000 with, on average, 8 now shutting down every week? In addition, over 80 established breweries have ceased operations. We are fast losing our history, heritage and even the meaning of beer. The large world-dominating breweries are taking over, closing down our traditional breweries, and even buying the new up-and-coming micro-breweries.
Chris Stewart has started a new group called ‘Brews of Excellence. Eminence and Renown’. (BEER). You are invited to join!!! There are regular monthly meet ups at some of our local real ale pubs, along with visits to those traditional old breweries still in existence. The process of making beer is much of a muchness, but it is the history of the breweries that will hold our interest.
Once or twice a year it is planned to visit some old breweries to discover more about their history and to appreciate their architecture and traditions. The Young’s Brewery in Wandsworth will be the first. It dates back to 1533, making it the oldest brewery in the country. Shepherd Neame is the oldest brewing company – founded in 1698.
The secret of good beer? BREW – Best Remember Excellent Wort!
The BEER Group is really building a great, friendly atmosphere at our monthly pub meetings. We met at The Sennockian on Wednesday 13th May for a lunch time drink and food.
The scaffolding outside did not make it look very inviting but inside we found a circular table which all eight of us could sit round.
This gave us the chance to talk as a group and come up with a number of suggestions for future BEER get togethers - see below.
If you would like to try some real ale and enjoy good company please join us - contact Chris via the link above.
- SOME PROPOSED VISITS:
- The villages of Eynsford and Shoreham – both of which have a number of good country pubs
- A Monday evening Thai meal at the Malt Shovel in Eynsford
- An evening at the award winning Cotton Mill – a micro pub in Swanley – just Google it to see how interesting it looks
- A walk along the Thames from Putney Bridge to Chiswick which has a number of good waterside pubs to try out – it is hoped we will get to Putney by the Uber Thames Ferry from Embankment and return on the tube
- A trip to Lakedown Brewery in Burwash near Mayfield – owned by Roger Daltrey of The Who – with beer, wine, food and maybe live music!!
- Visits to the old Young’s Brewery and Fuller’s Brewery to be planned