The following pub and brewery news was reported at the March Branch Meeting on Wednesday 4th March 2020.

Pub News

The Edgcumbe Arms, Milton Abbot – Licensee Mark will be leaving the pub at the end of June this year. Go and see him before he leaves – beer score average is very good! Bulletproof Brewing Taphaus, Mutley Plain, is rumoured to be opening during the weekend of 13/14/15, at some point. Date and time TBC. [POST MEETING UPDATE: The Taphaus is planned to open on Saturday 21st, at Midday]
The Dartmoor Inn, Merrivale, is under the new management of organic farmers, Mark and Emily, with their two adult children Anna and Hamish. Expect to see a new organic food and drinks menu. The Rising Sun Inn, Higher Compton, is advertising for new tenants, whilst the Bluebird, also in Higher Compton, now serve at least one real ale, Wadworth 6X on a recent visit. It was also reported that the current manager of the Victoria Inn, Hooe, will be moving soon to take over the Queens Dock Inn, Morice Town.

Pub Beer Festivals

25/3/20 – 5/4/20 JD Wetherspoon Spring Beer Festival 2020
3/4/20 – 4/4/20 Clovelly Bay Ale & Pie Festival
9/4/20 – 13/4/20 Walkhampton Inn Easter Real Ale & Cider Festival 2020
16/4/20 – 18/4/20 Tucker's Malting's Beer Festival 2020
22/4/20 – 25/4/20 Great Welsh Beer Festival 2020
1/5/20 – 2/5/20 Prince Maurice Spring 2020 Beer and Cider Festival
1/5/20 – 2/5/20 Royal Oak Spring Beer Festival 2020 and Boringdon Arms Spring Beer Festival 2020 joint beer festival.
22/5/20 – 25/5/20 Mary Tavy Spring 2020 Beer Festival
22/5/20 – 25/5/20 Olde Plough Spring 2020 Beer Festival

Brewery News

Roam have installed 3 new fermenting vessels to help cope with the demand in their own Brewery Tap. Another conditioning tank is due to be installed “soon”. Brewery Liaison Officers (BLOs) are need for both Anchor House, of Plympton, and Billy Ruffian’s, of Devonport. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the South West Brewery Liaison Coordinator (SW BLC), Ian Dickinson, on ku.gro.armac.nosiailyrewerb@rotanidrooc.tsewhtuos with your name and CAMRA membership number, and the position you wish to volunteer for.

A South West regional brewer has asked a question – Have JD Wetherspoon, a pub-owning company, changed their policy wrt small local independent breweries? In short answer, Yes they do appear to have done so. Breweries can no longer telephone the pubs, but should wait for JDW centrally to contact them for potential orders, providing that the brewery has submitted their beer list for the following three months (quarter). From a branch perspective, we looked at the beer scoring periods 1st Jan to 28/29th Feb in both 2019 and 2020. In 2019, 29 brewery beers (8 from SW breweries) had been scored; this year, 45 brewery beers were scored, with 14 included from the South West. Supply arrangements also come in to play. You can draw your own conclusions, bearing in mind that more CAMRA members are now beer scoring!