...And The Winners Are:

Belatedly, here are the CAMRA Winter Ales Festival/Champion Winter Beer of Britain award winners:






Old Ales and Strong Milds -

Gold- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Silver- Leeds, Midnight Bell (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Bronze- Beartown, Black Bear (Congleton, Cheshire)

Porters -
Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Sulwath, Black Galloway (Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway)
Bronze- RCH, Old Slug Porter (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset)

Stouts -
Gold - Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)
Silver- Beowulf, Dragon Smoke Stout (Brownhills, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Wapping, Stout (Liverpool, Merseyside)

Barley Wines
Gold- Robinsons, Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire)
Silver- Kinver, Over the Edge (Kinver, Staffordshire)
Bronze- Otley, O8 (Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan)

OVERALL -Gold- Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Silver- Breconshire, Ramblers Ruin (Brecon, Powys)
Bronze- Acorn, Gorlovka Imperial Stout (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

A big well done to Elland for thier silky porter. Deserved, I think. Nice to see (blatant nepotism aside) Leeds' Midnight Bell getting kudos. I've maintained since day one that although Pale probably is more popular, Midnight Bell is Leeds' best beer by far. And, for personal taste, I would have rated Otley's masterful 08 a little higher. But that's just me.

The Fox & Newt - Redux

Late last year I wrote about a visit to The Fox & Newt - and it proved to be a popular post; it would seem the brewpub had a lot of admirers from the 70's up until recent times.
I feared, however, that the article was somewhat of a kiss of death - not long after I visited, it closed. Again. This was becoming a little like deja vu.

I'm pleased to report that The Fox is up and running - and hopefully for good this time. I enjoyed a relaxed lunch there this week, and spent a little time chatting to Emma, the manager, about what happened before and her plans for the pub.

It all sounds great; firstly- and most importantly - the brewery will be back in early 2009 - although not under the Fox and Newt moniker due to the usual legal wrangles. Recipes have been formulated, gear has been tested and tweaked and a talented bunch of brewers seems to have been assembled. Watch this space for more - I can't stress how much of an event this should be. After all, you can count on the fingers of one hand genuine brewpubs in the vast space of Yorkshire - and there are none in Leeds. A true cause for celebration.
As for the pub itself - well, it's been updated, sure - the walls are now painted and the floors scrubbed but the pub-feel has been retained, as had (thank christ) the tiled fireplace in the side room. Emma's keen to point out that this is a pub - and one focused on beer and lots of it. There are no alcopops in the fridge. There are only two lagers on sale. The beer -chalkboard was updated twice in the hour is was there, and there's even tasting notes for the beer available at the bar.

The beer selection is good - Leeds Pale is always on, and in fine form, I might add - as was the Adnams Broadside that shored me up for the rapidly declining temperatures outside. Others on offer were Leeds' Hellfire, Black Sheep, Elland's Eden and Brain's Top Notch. Emma proudly counted off the beers from York, Elland, Abbeydale and many other local breweries sitting in the cellar, waiting to be supped.

The food looked good - homemade and good value - and I'll be certainly visiting again. The Fox is (as it always has been) a good pub - one slightly out of town, but one that is worth the five minute walk up towards Park Lane. It's run by an energetic and proud bunch of people, who truly want you to enjoy good beer. And hopefully, it'll be beer that they have brewed themselves in the not-too distant future.

The Fox & Newt
Open from 12 midday every day.

9 Burley Street,Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS3 1LD

And the Winners Are....

The National Winter Ales Festival took place recently in Manchester - Here are the winners as per the Camra website, with Wickar's Station Porter taking the honours. Naturally, being a Winter festival, it was time for Stouts, Porters and Barley-wine styles to take a bow.

National Winter Ales Festival 2008: Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2008

SUPREME CHAMPIONS
Gold - Wickwar, Station Porter (Wickwar, Gloucestershire)
Silver - Robinson's, Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire)
Bronze - Hop Back, Entire Stout (Salisbury, Wiltshire)

CATEGORY WINNERS

Old Ales & Strong Mild Category

Gold - Purple Moose, Dark Side of the Moose (Porthmadog, Gwynedd)
Silver - West Berkshire, Maggs Magnificent Mild (Thatcham, Berkshire)
Bronze - Highland, Dark Munro (Birsay, Orkney)

Stouts

Gold - Hop Back, Entire Stout (Salisbury, Wiltshire)
Silver - Spitting Feathers Old Wavertonian (Waverton, Chester)
Bronze - Spire, Sgt. Pepper Stout (Chesterfield, Derbyshire)

Porters

Gold - Wickwar, Station Porter (Wickwar, Gloucestershire)
Silver - E&S Elland, 1872 Porter (Elland, West Yorkshire)
Bronze - Acorn, Old Moor Porter (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

Barley Wines

Gold - Robinson's Old Tom (Stockport, Cheshire)
Silver - Durham, Benedictus (Bowburn, Co Durham)
Bronze - Mighty Oak, Saxon Song (Maldon, Essex

Nice to see Acorn getting a shout - i've been a fan of thiers for a while now, and the Old Moor Porter is lovely. Strong showing from Hop Back, also.