Winter Newsletter 2022
The next FoHB social will be held at The Walsall Arms, Bank St. Walsall on Monday 12th December. It will be our Christmas Social in the Skittle Alley so there will be our Huge ‘Prize Every Time’ Tombola and a game of skittles at the end. The January social will be held at the ‘Bellwether’ in Wednesbury on Monday 9th Jan 23 where we will be joined by Walsall CAMRA members for a joint social.
A trip to Hydes Brewery has been organised for Saturday 14th January 2023. As this is expected to be a popular trip we will offer places to members first and only full payment of £16 will reserve the seat.
Camden Town drops no pasteurisation pledge: following production issues with their ‘Flipping Hells’ lager, CT have come up with an alternative pasteurisation process, and all references to its “never pasteurised” claim (which was the focus of a major marketing campaign last year) have been taken off its website. A spokeswoman said “It will get people talking about the brand.” (not arf! ED.)
Broadside is 50: Adnams at Southwold is celebrating 50 years of its Broadside beer brand. It is 4.7% on draught and a big 6.3% in bottles, and was originally brewed in 1972 to mark the tercentenary of the battle of Sole Bay.
You can’t sell beer at 6p: you must give it away (apparently). Greene King planned to sell their beer at 1952 price of 6p a pint to mark the Platinum Jubilee but along came those awfully nice people of steady habits (the Council) and said it was not allowed. Under existing Licencing law all premises must adhere to a MUP (minimum pricing unit) of 50p which was introduced in 2018. A ban on selling alcohol below the level of alcohol duty plus VAT has been in place since 2014 when the 2003 Licensing Act was updated. In the end customers got a free pint of Greene King IPA instead of paying 6p.
There are many legends about tunnels leading from inns on the Church Hill to such places as Rushall Hall. One story asserts that St Matthews’s church is connected by tunnel to the White Hart in Caldmore. Since the hill is riddled with old limestone workings it’s hard to tell where fact and fiction occur, but the crypt in St Matthews does have a tunnel leading somewhere, but it’s blocked off now and will stay that way. Given that the White Hart dates back to the second half of the 17th century and was altered and reconstructed in 1870, it is maybe not surprising that stories abound, especially as Walsall’s famous ‘Hand of Glory’ was found hidden up a chimney there along with a Civil War sword. I have it on good authority that the place is haunted by a grey lady wearing a crinoline dress, but that’s another story for another time.
AJ’s Brewery: New beers for November World Cup -