Winter Warmer Wander
Winter weather, Warming beers, Wander from pub to pub
Stouts, Porters, Barley Wines and Old Ales are beer styles with a declining popularity. With the move towards lighter hoppy beers, these darker, richer brews are losing out. Though often available all year, these styles are usually associated with the winter months, especially around Christmas.
To counter this diminishing popularity, and help introduce more people to the style, the Stockport and South Manchester branch of the Campaign for Real Ale have introduced their Winter Warmer Wander.
What do I have to do to join the Winter Warmer Wander?
With over a month to complete the Wander, nothing could be easier. All you have to do is visit a set number of participating pubs (full details nearer the time) and drink one of the endangered beer styles. A stamp will be affixed to your passport when you select an eligible beer (not all styles will be available at all outlets). That's it! What is your excuse for not participating?
Download your card here
For more information about these beer styles visit the Campaign for Real Ale's information page by clicking here
APPLE - CAMRA's campaign for real cider and perry
What is real cider and perry?
Like real ale was back in the 80s, real cider and perry are still today a very endangered species.
CAMRA has a detailed definition of real cider and perry (details here) but basically apples (or pears) are harvested from the orchard; crushed and pressed to release the juice; allowed to ferment naturally then drunk. No concentrated juice, No sugar and definitely No fizz (though some are treated like champaign and allowed to develop a natural sparkle). Strongbow, Woodpecker and Magners score highly on all three banned activities!
Unlike real ale production, which can happen at any time of the year, real cider & perry can only be made when the fruit is ripe. October is a very active time for producers, especially for those who make only a small amount of cider. Harvest time for cider fruit is roughly from September to November and by October production is in full flow.
Great skill goes into creating both products, and it is produced rather than brewered. A mixture of bittersweet and bittersharp cider apples or sweet dessert apples, or a mixture of the two are used to make cider; but perry can only be made from specialized perry pears, which are high in natural tannin.
Stockport & South Manchester's Cider Circuit
Saturday 8 October to Sunday 13 November
What is the Cider Circuit?
To highlight the delights of real cider and perry, Stockport and South Manchester branch run an approximatly month long passport circuit around 33 pubs who sell real cider and perry. This takes place in October to coincide with production of the new year's cider.
How do I join in the Cider Circuit?
The (approximately) month long cider circuit has been established to help you participate in CAMRA's cider month of October. Rules vary every year, but roughly:
Pick up a card at a participating pub
Purchase a glass (half or pint) of REAL cider (or perry if available)
Visit a requisite number of pubs to claim your prize*
Enjoy!
* This year 12 pubs wins you a large bottle of cider, 33 and you are entered for a draw for a 36pint box of cider. Full details on page 15 of October's opening times (link to Opening Times here - large file).
Please be careful while drinking real cider and perry, as it is considerably stronger than commercial cider, often being in the range 6.5% to 8%!
Mild Magic
Mild is an endangered species - join in April for this month long passport trail
Run from mid April to mid May, this CAMRA National award winning event [link here[ is at heart a simple passport trail. With 94 pubs partaking in the 2011 event, we don't ask you to do all of them (though this was achieved by 5 hardy souls).
The Mild Challenge can be completed on any one of five levels. Simply drinking mild in twelve of the pubs entitled you to either entry to Stockport's Beer and Cider Festival, or one free pint if you were a CAMRA member.
If each of those pubs came from different locations, as designated on the entry card, then the in addition to above you also received a Mild Magic t-shirt. This hurdle was cleared by thirty eight people.
Upping the achievement to twenty four pubs in twenty four areas increased the number of tickets/pints to two and upped the shirt to a polo shirt. This was by far the most popular target which was achieved by forty five people.
Now the stakes got higher, forty eight pubs in total, but you only needed to visit thirty six of the seventy one areas to double your tickets/beers, but this time you would go away clad in a Mild Magic sweat shirt. The pressure was on as only twelve hardy souls achieved this level.
Stockport Beer & Cider Festival
A right fine bash in early June!
Having just passed our 25th birthday in 2011 we think we must be doing something right!
What does the Festival offer?
First and foremost a wide selection of fine cask ales sourced from around Britain. We try to keep at least two examples of all endangered beer styles eg mild, stout and etcetera available for drinking at all times so there should be something to tickle your fancy.
Secondly (but this does not mean second class) an overwhelming range of ciders and perrys. This year we had in excess of 50 varieties available, ranging from pleasantly sweet to astonishingly dry. Who says Magners is the pinnacle of cider, and as for cidré, don't get us going. If you want to try foreign ciders why not go where the real thing is still produced? Take the Normandy Cider Trail, or visit a festival in Nava, Asturias in Northern Spain.
Is it just about drinking?
No! We can also sell you a souvenir t-shirt, a variety of books or you could even join CAMRA and get a complimentary free beer on us. Why not have a go on our tombola, plenty of beery prizes to be won. What about having your Festival glass engraved to make it "that bit special". If you wanted to go further the engraver has an extensive selection of tankards, hip flask and bespoke belt buckles. Our charity also bring along a complementary selection of goods.
So it's all about buying?
No! Most sessions have accompanying musical entertainment ranging, in the last few years, from a 25/30 piece ladies choir to heavy rock bands with blues, folk jazz and everything else in between.
If all this sounds too much why not just sit out on the terraces (we are in Stockport County/Sale Shark's ground so there are plenty of seats to go around) and watch the world go by. If you are a plane spotter we are excellently placed to watch aircraft incoming to Manchester Airport.
Want to know more? Visit the website at
www.stockportfestival.org.uk