The following pub and brewery news was reported at the June 2023 Committee Meeting held in the Providence Inn, Greenbank.

Pub News

The Cider House, Bretonside, has changed hands following a serious illness to previous licensee, Keith Davis – we wish him all the very best in his recovery. The pub has been completely refurbished inside and out, and is now called Boomers Sports Bar, with new licensee Sarah Wills at the helm! Up to two live beers and two real ciders are served on hand pump. The Seymour Arms is under new management and no longer serves any live beers. The Fareham Inn , Coxside, no longer serves live beer (real ale) and is therefore no longer a member of the CAMRA Discount Scheme. The Odd Wheel, Wembury, is expected to reopen in June, as is the Plume Of Feathers Inn, Princetown, later in Summer.

Beer Scoring

We have received a total of 643 beer scores (286 last month) for the period 1st April to 31st May 2023, for 54 pubs submitted by 28 members, including 14 Plymouth branch members. The 14 Plymouth members submitted 510 scores (214 last month), whilst the 14 non branch members submitted 133 scores (72 last month) and came from branches including Bath, Cornwall, Exeter and South Devon.

Thank You all very much! Beer Scoring informs the Branch that those named pubs are open and serving cask conditioned Live Beer (real ale), or not, if zero scored. It also helps us to monitor the quality and consistency of the Live Beers (real ales) available, and to help us to keep What Pub as up-to-date as possible.

Cider News

The Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Committee, of CAMRA, have issued a new list of known real cider and perry producers. The list of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset producers are in the latest edition of Drake’s Drinker. The branch website Devon Cider Producers page has been updated. Rock Hill Cider is listed, but there are no known details for them – the Deputy Regional Cider Coordinator is investigating.

Plymouth CAMRA LocAle Scheme

There are currently 69 establishments listed as being accredited to the Plymouth CAMRA LocAle Scheme following the closure of the Brewery Tap, Stonehouse. These are listed on the branch website. The Odd Wheel, Wembury, and the Plume of Feathers, Princetown, may join the scheme soon with new licensees at the helm.

CAMRA Member Discount Scheme and CAMRA Voucher Scheme

There are currently 13 establishments listed as being members of the CAMRA Member Discount Scheme, after the Seymour Arms ceased selling live beers, and a further nine which are part of the CAMRA Voucher Scheme, making 22 in total. Please give these pubs your support if/when you go out!

Planning Applications

The RAOB Club, North Hill, is still being converted into 82 student bed accommodation. Planning application 22/00701/S73 refers. Pre-application for use of land adjacent to the Victualling Office Tavern, 10 Cremyll Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth PL1 3RB, for tables/chairs. Planning application 23/00746/MOR refers. Validated 19 May 2023. The planning application for the Chichester Arms, Chillaton, was again refused. Planning application 2298/22/FUL refers, dated 01 July 2022. This was for change of use from pub to domestic dwelling. West Devon BC gave reasons for the refusal on 06 March 2023:

“The West Devon Borough Council hereby REFUSE permission to carry out the development described [[above]] for the following reason(s): “It has not been formally demonstrated that it is unviable to operate the pub and as such, the proposal is considered contrary to the provisions of DEV18(6) of the JLP and 7-2 of the MACK Neighbourhood Plan and paragraph 84(d) of the National Planning Policy Framework.”

The pub was believed to have been bought by the current owner in 2015 and has been closed ever since.

Cask Marque Accreditation

The following CM changes have been reported during the last few weeks. The Dolphin Inn, Kingston, gained CM accreditation recently and the George Toby Carvery, Roborough, is no longer CM accredited.

Brewery News

CAMRA’s new Brewery Database – Pilgrim went live on Friday 24th March. BLOs were asked to check that the Data Transfer has correctly transferred all Brewery and Beer data. What Pub updates were temporarily suspended for a short time (about 10 days) during the initial first few days. There are no reported conflicts between the two databases.

Up to 20 brewery-related photos can be included for each brewery, such as brewery, shop, visitor centre and tap rooms. In addition, unlimited pump clip images can also be included for each beer, whether live beer (real ale) or not, including bottle labels.

There is not very much to report this month:

Steel Brew (SW) Limited (BLO Bob Holmes): We still have no further news yet as to when brewing will recommence, but the Tap Room reopened in April. Tavistock (BLO Vacant): The brewery supplied beer to the JDW Devon Real Ale Festival in May.

New Lion Brewery, Dartington, may have suspended production due to the high costs of utilities.

Skinner’s Betty Stogs beer is now starting to reappear in The Trade, as is Lushington’s, Porthleven and Cornish Knocker.

Sam Congdon, of The Vessel, hopes to get his new brewery up and running this month. The delay has been down to the flooring needing to be re-laid.

Beer Festival News

The JDW Devon Real Ale and Cider Festival 2023 took place from Monday 22nd until Monday 29th May in all six JDW pubs in our branch area. There was also a sponsored pub crawl in aid of Young Lives vs Cancer, starting at the Stannary Court, Plympton, at 1200 noon, then visited the Mannamead, Mutley, Gog and Magog, Barbican, Union Rooms, City Centre, and finishing at the Britannia, Milehouse.

The London Inn PSM Ale and Cider Festival, Plympton St Maurice, held an ale and cider festival from Tuesday May 9th until Thursday June 1st, with over 40 ales and ciders available.

The South Devon CAMRA Sunshine Beer Festival 2023 will take place at Teignmouth RFC between 20th and 22nd July, with over 60 live beers and 15 real ciders.

The Walkhampton Inn Sausage and Cider Festival 2023, Walkhampton, are holding a sausage and cider festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend, 25th to 28th August.

Website Hit Counter

The free-to-use Visitor Hit Counter was installed on the branch website Home, Diary, Beer Festival and Drake’s Drinker Pages on Thursday 8th September 2022, with a reading of, erm, zero! We had 345 hits in September, 336 hits in October, 541 hits in November, 389 hits in December, 453 hits in January 2023, 478 in February, 442 in March, 522 in April and 619 in May, Total 4125. We are now averaging over 500 hits a month from January to the end of May 2023!

Plymouth CAMRA would like to wish all new Publicans and Brewers all the very best in their ventures.