ALE May 1999 No. 294

St George's Day?

23rd April! (A date apparently still unfamiliar to many.)

In the last two or three years there's been a modest revival in its observance. A few pubs such as our Pub of the Year make an effort, lay on decorations and appropriate beer and food, aided by a few breweries which do specials.

This year over 20 Charles Wells pubs worked with the Royal Society of St George to make the day special. Both are campaigning for the day to be a Bank Holiday. The pubs managed to get a licence extension until midnight - difficult to get for this day as it's not deemed a "special occasion" yet easy for St Patrick's.

Ushers (Trowbridge, Wilts.) St George & the Dragon (4.2%), a tasty, quaffing beer, was sighted at The Cambridge Blue, Gwydir Street.

There may be much more made of the day soon - an understandable reaction to devolution for other parts of the UK.


Branch Pub of the Year 1999

...is The Live and Let Live (Mawson Rd., Cambridge), now fully recovered from the disastrous fire. Landlord Pete Gray ran a very successful beer festival over Easter, with fourteen fine ales on offer, including some particularly fine Wherry. He may be running a similar event over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Pete remains conscious of the main problem with the Cask Marque scheme, that beers tend to be served over-chilled. He's installed individual temperature controls on the beer lines and that seemed to make a difference during the beer festival.

For St George's Day there was B&T (Shefford, Beds.) Dragonslayer (4.5%) and for food English delicacies such as faggots!


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