Outwoods Home Brewing Club

Apart from the blindingly obvious, what do Gates Reservoir and Burton Bridge Bitter have in common? Both started out life as a home brew; Reservoir in Stuart Gates’ kitchen and the recipe for Burton Bridge Bitter was finalised by Bruce Wilkinson using Boots Home Brew Kits.

Outwoods Home Brewing Club (OHBC) launches at Outwoods Brewing Company on Thursday 3rd October 6.30pm until 8.00pm (and the first Thursday of each month thereafter) and aims to be of interest to home brewers of all abilities, promoting discussion about all aspects of the hobby. This isn’t the first home brewing club held in the town, Marston’s founded one in 2016 in their DE14 Nanobrewery and it was thriving nicely until COVID arrived, hopefully the OHBC will be able to generate the same level of interest.

Chris and Sam Murphy

“My wife Sam and I began homebrewing some years back, starting with a Nutbrown Ale; we paused for a while, but over the last year or so we have really gotten back into it again,” says Chris Murphy co-founder of the OHBC. “From wines to beers, it’s an amazing and rewarding hobby creating your own brews, the same as people who have allotments and grow their own vegetables.”

“I still think of myself as a home brewer at heart, cask is my new learning curve which I’m loving!” says Colin Trowell of the Outwoods Brewing Company who opened in July. “I still use a lot of the same equipment I did back in my garage, the same suppliers for my ingredients and kegs, same recipes, just the volume has changed and the selling point.”

Chris: “We met Colin the day Outwoods opened, we absolutely fell in love with the place and the beers he produces. He is a very approachable young man, with an amazing aptitude for brewing. Having spoken to Colin about the OHBC, Sam and I knew this was the right place, person and time to start the club.

Colin Trowell of Outwoods Brewing Company

“Being novices Sam and I had the thought to start the club to gain more knowledge about brewing. Being able to talk to other homebrewers and holding the club at the Outwoods Brewery will engage the brewing community in Burton and surrounding area. With Colin’s wealth of knowledge and experience and having the brewery on site, it will make the club one of the best.”

Colin: “The format will evolve over time, like one meeting will be about different hops and I will have 40 on show that people can smell and talk about the hop profile and which recipes I use them in etc. I’ll do the same with malt, but that is less fun. I will do technical demos on my old little kit, as it’s the same process as how I brew now. The ideas I have for OHBC are insane!”

Sam will be organising trips, club events, guest speakers etc. and is keen to promote an all-inclusive atmosphere at the OHBC.

“Anyone interested is welcome to join, even if they don’t homebrew yet but are thinking about it. All sexes and ages are welcome, the more people we can engage, the better the club will be,” says Chris excitedly. “All three of us have a passion for beer, brewing and all things related to Burton on Trent, the history of brewing in Burton and the industry of brewing throughout.”

The Outwoods brewing kit

Chris: “The OHBC is set up to bring together like-minded home-brewery fanatics who want to get together to drink each other’s brews and chat about all things beer and provide an excellent resource for learning. Most of all make it fun and not too serious!”

Outwoods Home Brewing Club will be held at Outwoods Brewing Company on Thursday 3rd October 6.30pm until 8.00pm.

The new CAMRA National Chairman speaks

In late August CAMRA released a statement to the effect that the long-standing National Chairman Nik Antona would be standing down with immediate effect, due to being diagnosed with a serious medical condition. Following a vote by the National Executive over the weekend, Ash Corbett-Collins. who has held the position of Vice-Chairman since November was elected as Nik’s successor.

“I want to thank Nik for all of his support over the last six years together on the National Executive,” says Ash respectfully. “He was also one of the first people I met in CAMRA when I went to my first branch meeting almost a decade ago and he’s been a friend ever since. His knowledge, skills and experience have been invaluable to supporting me in the various roles I’ve had over the years.”

Ash was interviewed in the early days of The Beertonian in 2018, just after he had been elected to the CAMRA National Executive (link here).

“When we last spoke, I’d not long moved from Swadlincote to Birmingham. Since then I’ve gotten married (in 2021) and I’m now in the process of buying my first house in Sutton Coldfield. My wife and I also adopted our dog Vinnie, a Bedlington Terrier crossed with a Lurcher, he now accompanies us on our trips to pubs and brewery taps across the country.”

How have things changed with CAMRA in that time?

“Obviously the last few years CAMRA has faced major challenges, like all membership organisations. The pandemic and lockdowns meant that we couldn’t run our usual festivals and many are still finding their feet. It’s a credit to the volunteers locally that Burton was able to stage the Great British Beer Festival Winter, which has been major boost to our profile and generated a surplus that we can put towards our campaigning activities.

“Another major change is in how we work; the pandemic forced us to quickly adopt a remote/online approach. Of course running meetings online doesn’t have the same social benefits as meeting in a pub but it has allowed us to work faster and more efficiently. Whereas national working groups used to meet quarterly, we now often meet once a month for shorter, more focused sessions.”

What are the main challenges facing the organisation in 2024?

“CAMRA today is facing a number of challenges: while our retention rate remains incredibly high at almost 89% year on year, we aren’t attracting new members at the rate we used to. A lot of this is down to the cost of living crisis, we know that similar organisations are struggling with recruitment as people tighten their belts. That’s why it’s so important to support festivals across the country as they are our main source of recruitment. We’re looking at how we can boost this nationally but at a local level we’re encouraging members to sign up their friends and drinking buddies; people they already know support our aims of protecting and promoting real ale and the Great British pub. If everyone signed up just one friend over the next 12 months we’d double our membership!

“We’re also still seeing an ageing active membership, while we’re eternally grateful to the hard work that volunteers do, we have to be realistic about the fact that we can’t rely on the same people forever. That’s especially true of physically demanding tasks such as the set up and takedown of festival equipment. Many people ask me how we get more young people involved in CAMRA but I think that’s a difficult ask when so many of them simply don’t have the spare time, energy or money when they are starting their careers and families themselves. We need to be encouraging our members who are at the next stage in their life, maybe their kids are becoming independent, their careers are settled or they are recently retired. These members are more likely to have the time and energy to get involved in the Campaign.”

What does the role of National Chairman entail?

“It is still a voluntary role so I’ll be continuing do this alongside my day job, I’m a Bid Manager for a connectivity company, which has taught me the importance of time management and team building, skills that lend themselves to my new role in CAMRA. I’m also involved in my local branch, where I’m the Good Beer Guide, NBSS and Pubs Database Coordinator. I also run the Pub and Club of the Year competitions. It’s a lot to juggle but I have to be smart with prioritising and also be honest and hold my hand up when I don’t have the time to do something. At the end of the day, we’re all volunteers and we respect that people’s family, friends and work come first, but CAMRA is a huge passion of mine and I’m privileged to be able to part of the team stewarding it towards its next fifty years.

“The role of National Chairman is multi-faceted: on paper the primary duty is to lead the National Executive, the twelve national directors elected by our membership at AGM, but it’s also about setting the strategy and vision for the Campaign and working side by side with the Chief Executive, who is responsible for our paid staff, to deliver it. The National Chairman is also expected to be a figurehead for the Campaign and I’ll be talking directly with colleagues across the industry as well as with decision-makers in Government to drive CAMRA’s message.”

Ash is a proud Burtonian, what does he think of the current pub scene in Burton and why does it appear to be bucking the trend of pub and brewery closures?

“My Mum and my Nan both still live in Burton so I’m often visiting, which is always a great excuse to visit the pubs, brewery taps and clubs across the branch. It’s great to see so many thriving and new openings such as The Arches, it’s already on my list for next time I visit. I think Burton benefits from still being known nationally as the Home of Brewing and people come from across the country to visit. There’s also a great community around the pubs locally and events like the Burton Ale Trail have encouraged people to get out and try new ones, and the Burton Ale Trail attracts visitors from as far as Scotland, but we can’t take it for granted.

“The publicans and brewers are still struggling and that’s why CAMRA is calling on the Government to reduce VAT for hospitality businesses, reduce the duty paid on draught beer and reform business rates. These three core asks are vital to safeguarding the sector over the next few years. The new Government is keen to get Britain growing and to do that it needs to support our pubs and clubs. They already contribute £34bn to the economy and provide over a million jobs but with 50 pubs a month closing that is in danger. No matter whether someone is a CAMRA member or not, we’re urging them to contact their local MP and ask them to support our Great British pubs before it’s too late.”

I’ve never understood why CAMRA issues Wetherspoon vouchers. If the campaign is about protecting the British pub why offer an incentive to visit a chain that sells so cheaply that other pubs cannot compete?

“CAMRA is a consumer organisation and we know that over half of Brits already think that the cost of a pint is unaffordable, the CAMRA voucher scheme provides up to £30 off over a calendar year and it can be used in a number of different pub chains to help drinkers make their pint more affordable. Thousands of pubs also choose to offer CAMRA members a discount on their beer simply by showing their membership card.

“I believe it’s important that there is a broad range of pubs that cater to the varying needs of all drinkers, it’s just as important that there are specialist bars serving weird and wonderful beers that excite some drinkers as it is that there are pubs offering affordable beers to those are mindful of the rising cost of a pint. It is also important to remember that the reason so many pubs are closing isn’t competition but because of the rising cost of doing business that we are urging the Government to address.”

How will you measure your success in the role and where do you see CAMRA being in five years?

“For me, success as National Chairman is about ensuring CAMRA is a thriving organisation at every level, that people want to be a member, understand how we are making a difference and are excited to volunteer to be a part of that. In five years, we’ll be coming to the end of this Parliament and I hope to see that our core asks of this Government have been enacted to help support our pubs and breweries. We’re going to continue working with partners across the industry to do that and be backed up by our army of thousands and thousands of volunteers.”

Carry On Dicky

At first glance Inn-Uendo’s, Burton’s new Micro Pub / Bar looks like a classy joint; the jazzy green wallpaper and massive clock centrepiece suggests an upmarket Wine Bar but look closer at the pictures on the wall and you’ll spot the saucy seaside postcards, “Carry On …” film posters and the name will begin to make sense. And that’s before you’ve read the risqué cock-tail menu!

“I wanted a continental vibe, I’ve spent a lot of time in Benidorm so have loads of idea from visiting the bars over there.” Yes, Inn-Uendo’s is different and reflects the personality of owner Richard Peace, who is also known as Dicky to some of his friends.

“People can expect lots of laughter and a friendly environment, we are well known for making people feel very welcome. Maybe that’s why we’re so popular in town,” he says, the last part is probably tongue in cheek, or tongue somewhere else.

‘We’ refers to Richard and his partner Jason, who started their career at Blush in the town centre in 2009. Following its closure in 2015 Richard worked at the Devonshire Arms and latterly at the Burton Bridge Inn. He is well known around town and has a face that you’ve probably come across, so to speak.

Jason and Richard (credit: Netty Webster)

“I spent a good five years at Burton Bridge Inn but once the brewery sold it was time to move on. My vision for the last couple of years was to open my own place again, many people have said to me and Jason since leaving Blush that we are missed, and we really need to do something to create the fun atmosphere we are known for.”

Richard spotted the empty unit early 2024 and immediately knew he found the place he could slide in and make his own.

“The location and size was bang on, we finally got the keys in March and it’s been a long and stressful process having to go through planning permission but I knew it’d be worth it in the end.”

A full frontal view (credit: Netty Webster)

Along with the cock-tails, lagers, ciders and premium spirits, Richard has two handpulls and is fully committed to serving real ale.

“It is important to me to be offering real ale as this is what people know me for from working at the Devi and the Bridge. I’ve gained the experience to know how to keep a good pint and what people want. I won The Best Beer on the Burton Ale Trail in March 2022 when we launched the Ruby Red for Burton Bridge’s 40th anniversary, this is something I’m very proud of. We are not tied to any brewery so I can have anything on the pumps that I choose and what the punters request.”

Beer o’clock (credit: Netty Webster)

Inn-Uendo’s is on Station Street between Sainsbury’s and the Gurkha Lounge and opens this Saturday at 5pm. Why not slip in for a cheeky one?

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