New Brewery for Oxford

Shotover Brewery Logo

A new craft micro brewery called the Shotover Brewing Company is due to
open soon in converted stables in Horspath just outside Oxford. The
owner and head brewer Ed Murray has been craft brewing for over twenty years
and has made the decision to turn his interest into a commercial venture.
It is anticipated that beer will be on sale by the end of November.

There are photos of stables being converted into the brewery on their facebook group and their main web site is at www.shotoverbrewing.com.

I am hoping that one of the Shotover beers will be at the Brewery Tap‘s Winter ‘Beer, Cider & Sausage’ festival on Friday 4th December – Sunday 6th December. This festival promises 30 different cask ales, 5 real ciders. The Big Boys Blues Band will be playing live on the Sunday from 4pm.

Note to any publicans reading this… I don’t intend to only mention the Brewery Tap and the Stocks. There are many other good pubs in Abingdon including Nags Head, Spread Eagle, White Horse, Cross Keys, Punchbowl, Plough, Broad Face. If you have any news, information on guest beers, festivals, etc, then please let me know and I’ll post it here.

Abingdon Pubs who are members of The Head Brewer’s Club

Greene King announced yesterday that The Brewery Tap in Abingdon has been chosen as an exclusive member of the new Head Brewer’s Club, a collection of Greene King’s hero cask ale pubs. It was picked due to its dedication to great cask beer.

You can read more details on Greene King’s Run a Pub blog

More details about the Head Brewer’s Club can be found at www.headbrewersclub.co.uk

Other pubs in Abingdon and surrounding area who are also members of the Head Brewer’s Club include:

  • The Old Anchor – The Wharf, Abingdon
  • Spread Eagle – Northcourt Road, Abingdon: (This is well worth a visit for its unusual food menu and well served beer)
  • Punchbowl – Market Place, Abingdon
  • Black Horse – Gozzards Ford
  • Merry Miller – Dry Sandford
  • Plough – Appleton

Brewery Tap increases its range of real ales

This week the Brewery Tap on Ock Street in Abingdon, one of the two entries in this year’s Good Beer Guide, will have some more real ales available at the bar. These are:

They are also examining the possibility of installing another 2 hand pumps which will bring the selection of ales up to 7 pumps.

Two pubs in Abingdon are awarded entry into the Good Beer Guide 2010

In previous years The Brewery Tap in Abingdon has been able to claim the accolade of being the only Good Beer Guide pub in Abingdon. This year however, it is joined by the Stocks Bar (at the Crown & Thistle Hotel) in the latest edition of the guide which was published last week.

The Brewery Tap has been in the guide for several years being known for consistent good beer quality and a traditional pub environment. The stocks is a well deserving newcomer this year having introduced a large range of real ales and being one of the first pubs in the area to be awarded Camra LocAle status.

The Cherry Tree in Steventon which is about 3 miles South of Abingdon has also made the grade. I’m afraid I don’t get down to Steventon often enough so can’t really comment on this.

Congratulations to them. Entry into the Good Beer Guide can only be achieved by being a good pub that serves good beer.

There were several other pubs in Abingdon on the shortlist this year, but unfortunately the book only has a finite size and the Oxford branch is only allowed a set number of entries for its area. For more information on other pubs in Abingdon, I recommend picking up a copy of the Oxford Drinker (for free at most good pubs in the area) or downloading it from the Oxford Camra web site, which has been doing a series of articles surveying every pub in Abingdon over the last 3 issues.

To find out more details then buy the Good Beer Guide 2010. I have seen copies in Mostly Books [please support your local shops], or it can be bought directly from Camra, or you can buy it at the Oxford Beer Festival between October 15th-17th.

The Good Beer Guide is an annual publication by Camra (Campaign For Real Ale), which was set up to prevent British Beer heritage from being destroyed in the 1970’s by large brewers replacing real ale with bland low quality keg beer and global lager brands. This campaign has been a success, with Britain now having more breweries than any other country, and real ale consumption seeing an increase in an otherwise declining industry and economy.

Entries in the Good Beer Guide are decided by local Camra branch members. A short list is made based upon ratings of beer quality during the year. Camra members can enter ratings for any pubs they visit during the year. The final choice for pubs from the Oxford area are made by a vote from Camra members at one of the monthly Oxford Camra branch meetings. To be in the guide requires a consistent quality of beer throughout the year.

If you want to help influence what pubs go into next year’s edition, then consider joining Camra. If you are already a member then please come along to branch meetings or social events.

Abingdon Brewery Tap improves beer range

The Brewery Tap on Ock Street in Abingdon, is now offering a wider choice of real ales with two hand punps being free of tie. Initially these include White Horse Brewery’s Wayland Smithy, and Slater’s Top Totty.

The Brewery Tap has always been known for its quality of ale, and was the only pub in Abingdon to appear in the Camra 2009 Good Beer Guide and has been Cask Marque accredited every year since it started. However as it is a Greene King pub it has been restricted in its choice of beers.

The improvements are due to Kane who previously managed the Stocks bar, and has now moved to the Brewery Tap. Whilst at the Stocks bar, he was responsible for dramatic improvements to the beer range and quality, turning it into one of the top pubs in the Oxford area for real ale drinkers.

There are plans to hold a beer festival at the Brewery Tap at the beginning of December, and to try to obtain Camra LocAle status by permanently stocking beers from the White Horse Brewery.

This is good news for Abingdon, which over the last few years has seen a big improvement to the quality and range of beers.