There are only two tickets left at the Maypole for the Saturday lunchtime session. The Selden Arms may still have some (though I doubt it!) but those are only available for over-the-counter purchase.

There’s still plenty of tickets left for the other sessions.

The tickets for Yapton Beerex have been printed, and are now available at £5 each.

Postal orders to: Yapton Beerex, Maypole Inn, Maypole Lane, Yapton, BN18 0DP — please enclose an SAE, and remember to say which session you want tickets for!

You can also buy them over the bar at the Maypole, or at the Selden Arms in Worthing.

Book early if you want tickets for Saturday lunchtime — over a third have been sold already!

It’s that time of year again — the branch AGM is rapidly approaching, and this year will be on Feb 6, at the Maypole in Yapton. (More details here)

The week after is the Good Beer Guide selection meeting. This year we’re at the White Swan in Bosham (details here)

Please try to make it to both meetings if you can — both start at 8:30 rather than the usual 8:45, as we have a lot of stuff to cover.

If you’re wanting to vote, you’ll need to bring your CAMRA membership card.

Oh look. Greene King has confirmed that Hardys & Hansons will be closed at the end of the year.

The only printable response I can find is that GK is the 21st Century Whitbread. Although at least Whitbread usually waited a bit before closing the brewery they’d bought.

Isn’t it about time we said “enough is enough”? I for one won’t be drinking any of GK’s beers — oh, sorry, “brands”. Says it all, that.

John Young, chairman of Young’s Brewery, has died aged 85, in the final week of brewing at Wandsworth. (Source: the British Guild of Beer Writers)

I’ve just passed through Chichester and noticed that the Coach & Horses has a nice new sign hanging outside — only now it says “Hall & Woodhouse” rather than “King & Barnes”.

Mixed feelings about this, really: on the one hand, the new sign is more accurate, considering that’s where the beers are brewed, but on the other hand, are we going to see the K&B name disappear completely?

I believe they still sell the Gribble-brewed Pukka Mild, so it’s worth popping in regardless of what name is above the door…

We’re spoilt for choice on the weekend of September 8/9 — not one, but two beer festivals!

The first is at the Ship & Anchor in Ford, whose festival starts at opening on Friday and runs through until closing on Sunday. Free admission, with live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, and around 10 beers to choose from. Food should be available throughout, and there’s a campsite outside so you could always bring a caravan or tent. No guarantees about the weather, though!

The other beer fest is at Amberley Museum — this one’s Friday and Saturday evenings only, and admission is £4 for Friday evening and £3 for Saturday. Advance tickets can be had from the Museum office, or from the Bell, Chichester, the King’s Arms, Arundel, the Evening Star, Brighton, the Stanley Arms, Portslade, the Buckingham Arms, Shoreham, and the Selden Arms, Worthing. Up to 30 beers at this one — no mention of cider but we live in hope.

If you’re coming from Brighton, Portslade, Shoreham or Worthing, there’s a bus running from the pubs to the Amberley beer festival — and back again! — for £2. Pre-book to be sure of a seat, though.

Both festivals are easily accessible by rail: the Ship & Anchor is five minutes walk south from Ford station, and Amberley Museum is right by Amberley station, so you could do both on one rail ticket.

At just after 4 today, Hardys & Hansons shareholders voted to accept Greene King’s takeover bid.

The board stated that the future of the brewery was a matter for GK so… well, place your bets. I give them until the end of the year, tops :(

No link for further information just yet, as we seem to have scooped both the Publican and the Morning Advertiser…

(Personal rant: Wonder how many more family brewers will need to be devoured before the Government gets off its backside and does something? Oh, but that would take vital resources away from spending all our money on half-baked identity card schemes, of course…)

Gold Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold
Silver Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter (congratulations!)
Bronze Triple fff Moon Dance

Milds

Gold Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild
Silver Elgood’s Black Dog
Bronze Grainstore Rutland Panther

Bitters

Gold Elgood’s Cambridge Bitter
Silver Acorn Barnsley Bitter
Bronze Sharp’s Doom Bar Bitter / Woodforde’s Wherry

Best Bitters

Gold Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter
Silver Triple fff Moon Dance
Bronze Kelburn Red Smiddy / Surrey Hills Shere Drop

Strong Bitters

Gold York Centurion’s Ghost Ale
Silver Thornbridge Jaipur IPA Tried this myself - great stuff!
Bronze Weetwood Oasthouse Gold

Speciality Beers

Gold Cairngorm Trade Winds
Silver Wolf Straw Dog
Bronze William Brothers Fraoch Heather Ale

Golden Ales

Gold Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold
Silver Hop Back Summer Lightning
Bronze Holden’s Golden Glow

Guardian/CAMRA Bottle-Conditioned Beers

Gold White Shield Brewery White Shield
Silver Greene King Hen’s Tooth “Don’t shoot the messenger!” — Roger Protz
Bronze Titanic Stout

Just got back from the Trading Post in Barnham, where they’re currently selling Deuchars IPA at two bottles for £1. The catch is that the best before date is August 5, but the beer should be fine for ages after that — most of my bottles seem to get drunk after the sell by date, and I can only remember one tasting a bit different.

Fill yer boots :)