General Articles

Articles and features about branch activities & anything else beer, cider or pub related.

A day out to the Old Post Office

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AliWarrington

A (very) small contingent of the branch travelled to the Old Post Office in Lymm on Wednesday February 7th to join North Cheshire branch at their presentation to brewer Mark Dale of the North West Regional Silver bottled beer (4.3% and below) for Lymm Bitter. Our trip was to present, what turned out to be … Read more

Obituary – Mike Kerr

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Mike Kerr

The branch has recently been informed of the sad loss of one of its long-standing members, Mike Kerr, who lost his fight with cancer on Wednesday the 18th July.  Mike was most active with the branch during the branch’s early 2000s renaissance under the chairmanship of Neil Worthington and Beverley Gobbett but continued to keep … Read more

When is keg not really keg?

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This article was originally published in What’s Brewing in December 2015 by CAMRA’s Technical Advisory Group. It was adapted from an article by Trafford & Hulme’s John O’Donnell which appeard in Opening Times magazine in November 2015. The original can be read here. Although some thinking and CAMRA’s outlook has changed since it was originally published, it … Read more

Trip to Chester – 25th Feb 2017

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On Saturday 25th February, Trafford & Hulme will visit the pubs of Chester for the first time inover two years. Plan is to catch the 11.17 Northern Trains service from Manchester Piccadilly (Platform 12). Train calls at Stockport (11.26), Navigation Road (11.44) & Altrincham (11.46). We arrive in Chester at 12.46 Pubs we aim to … Read more

When is a keg not a keg? Real ale from key-kegs explained

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Key-keg

When is a keg not a keg? Real ale from key-kegs explained.

Back in April 2015, when delegates at CAMRA’s Members Weekend in Nottingham passed a motion about the labelling of “real ale in a key-keg”, many commentators saw it as a major step in CAMRA modernising and recognising what is popularly known as “craft keg”.

In fact, whiKey-kegle the motion was the first to be passed by CAMRA’s highest body to positively recognise the sector, it actually came four years after CAMRA’s Technical Advisory Group first recognised that key-kegs can contain beer meeting CAMRA’s definition of real ale, a decision which followed trials held at The Great British Beer Festival. Even in a hall full of CAMRA activists in Nottingham, it was clear that many were unaware of CAMRA’s position nor what key-kegs are all about.

When CAMRA was established in 1971 it fought against a sweeping trend for what came to be known as “real-ale” being replaced by bland “keg” beers. Forty-four years later the word keg still has massive negative connotations for many CAMRA members with any beers associated with the “k” word being dismissed as “fizz”. However, what those pioneering members were really fighting against wasn’t the physical containers the beer was served from, it was the product in them which was made with low quality ingredients and universally filtered & pasteurised, killing so much of the flavour in the process.

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Altrincham Amble 2016 – Saturday 26th March

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On Easter Saturday the branch sets off for an extensive amble round the many pubs of Altrincham. Following is an approximate itinerary for the day. 12:00 George & Dragon 12:30 Wheatsheaf 13:15 Old Market Tavern 13:45 Orange Tree 14:15 Old Roebuck 14:45 Malt Shovels 15:15 Station 15:45 Bricklayers 16:15 Pi 17:00 Jack in the Box … Read more