Sandford Orchards has just launched the 2025 Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards which offer aspiring cider makers the chance to win an invaluable package of advice, guidance and guaranteed listings in the on and off trade. These unique awards, which are now in their fourth year, are free to enter, open to cider makers producing between 3,000 and 50,000 litres of cider or perry per year and designed to support the future of cider in the UK. The closing date is 31st January 2025.
Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards and founder of the awards comments: ”When we launched the inaugural Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards at the end of 2019, we had no idea that they would prove to be such a huge success. I set them up because we wanted to give something back to the industry that I love and I wanted to ensure that fledgling cider makers, who share my passion for real cider, were given the opportunity to thrive. Business is tough and it can be really daunting trying to get started. We are keen to support emerging cider makers in order to secure the future of quality cider enjoyment for generations to come and the response since the launch in 2019 has been incredibly encouraging. There is a hugely talented pool of new cider makers in the UK and we are looking forward to meeting more of them as part of the 2025 award process.”
The Breakthrough Cider Maker Award entrants will be judged by industry experts including Tom Oliver, Gabe Cook and Mary Topp and the winner will receive a prize package that includes a £500 Vigo voucher, a listing at their local Stable Pizza, a listing at The London Cider House, a Sandford Orchards collaboration limited edition cider and a visit by Sandford Orchards’ cider makers to offer practical help and advice about set up. The two runners up will both receive a £200 voucher from Bag In Box Shop UK and all three winners will receive a 12 month listing at Darts Farm, Devon and a 12 month listing on www.sandfordorchards.co.uk. Plus, everyone who enters will receive personalised, practical and actionable feedback.
Andy Jenkins (pictured) from Ganley and Naish, the most recent winners of the award comments : “Winning the award proved to myself that I can make cider, and cider to a good standard. As silly as that sounds, having peer approval has been hugely validating. Being in the company of amazing previous winners and runners up, is an exclusive club that I am going to cherish forever.”

Andy Jenkins (L) from Ganley and Naish with Gabe Cook

Gabe Cook, The Ciderologist and awards’ judge adds: “It is a joy to be part of these utterly unique and crucial Breakthrough Cider Awards. To give small cider makers not only a platform to shine, but to have real financial and technical support is fabulous. Bravo to Sandford Orchards for, not for the first time, thinking about the big picture and giving something back to the cider community.”

The Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards were launched by Sandford Orchards at the end of 2019 and aim to recognise and celebrate excellent quality whole juice ciders from around the UK. Sandford Orchards would like to thank Vigo, Bag In Box Shop UK, The Stable and The London Cider House for their support and prize donations.
For further information on the Sandford Orchards Breakthrough Cider Maker Awards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk/cider-awards. or follow Sandford Orchards on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The Winter edition of the popular Beer magazine is now available, Click here to download a copy

Overall winners:
Gold: Crouch Vale Brewery, Amarillo
Silver: Anspach & Hobday,The IPA
Bronze: Green Jack Brewery, Trawlerboys Best Bitter

Mild category winners:
Gold: Penzance Brewing co, Mild
Silver: Brains Brewery, Dark
Bronze: Five Kingdoms Brewery, McGregor’s Wild

Session Bitter category winners:
Gold: Logan Beck Brewing, Proper Bitter
Silver: Mighty Oak Brewing Company Captain Bob
Bronze: Windsor & Eton Brewery, Guardsman

Premium Bitter category winners:
Gold: Green Jack Brewery Trawlerboys Best Bitter
Silver: Sharp's Brewery Sea Fury
Bronze: Cairngorm Brewery Wildcat

IPAs category winners:
Gold: Anspach & Hobday, The IPA
Silver: Byatt's Brewery, Mahana IPA
Bronze: Bragdy Twt Lol at The Trefforest Brewery Dreigiau’r Diafol / Diablo Dragons

Session Pale, Blond & Golden Ales category winners:
Gold: Loch Lomond Brewery, Southern Summit
Silver: Oakham Ales, Citra
Bronze: Bewdley Brewery, Sunshine

Premium Pale, Blond and Golden Ales category winners:
Gold: Crouch Vale Brewery, Amarillo
Silver: St Austell Brewery, Proper Job
Bronze: Swannay Brewery Orkney IPA

Winter Round winners:
Stouts and Porters, Session: Lancaster Brewery Lancaster Black
Stouts and Porters, Strong: Green Jack Brewery Baltic Trader
Speciality, Flavoured: Purple Moose Brewery/Bragdy Mŵs Piws Elderflower Ale (Cwrw Ysagwen)
Barley Wines and Strong Old Ales: Sarah Hughes Brewery (The Beacon Hotel) Snowflake

Read the full press release here: https://ow.ly/631J50TRQgz

The Autumn edition of News & Brews will be appearing in a pub near in the next few days. Remember they are free to take away or read and replace

The Sunshine Festival cask ales, ciders and perries are now confirmed and can be viewed or downloaded here

During our recent Annual General Meeting it was decided to update our Branch Logo.
You will now see the new logo starting to appear on digital media and eventually on Branch Leisurewear.

The Blue Anchor in Teignmouth was chosen for the launch of this year's festival special, brewed for us by Teignmouth Brewery - a 4.7% IPA. The initial tasting fell to a selection of branch members and customers, they all look as though they enjoyed it!

Buses are the UK’s most used form of public transport!
17-23 June

Following our Gold Award in 2023, this year we were awarded Silver at the Members Weekend in Dundee

Some of the Burton Union sets, recently decommissioned by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co (CMBC), have found a new home at Thornbridge Brewery.

The Burton Union sets in place in Thornbridge’s Riverside Brewery

More details can be found here in an article by Darren for Beer and Cider News

The awards for Pub of the Year, Club of the Year and Town Pub of the Year were presented on Saturday 6th April 2024
Details and photos can be found here

Salcombe Brewery have won Silver Award for their Island Street Porter in the 2024 CAMRA South West Regional Competition in the Strong, Stouts and Porters category.
Photo shows Dave Buckler (right), South Devon CAMRA Sunshine Beer & Cider Festival Organiser, presenting Sam Beaman with the award.

Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company risks confusing drinkers about cask conditioned beers, warns the Campaign for Real Ale, in reaction to a new beer launch which plans to hijack the iconic handpump.

CMBC has announced its plans to start serving keg beer through handpumps, which beer drinkers widely understand as usually being exclusively used for cask conditioned beer.

Keg beer is not a “live” beer, in that once it leaves the brewery it contains no viable yeast, and does not undergo further conditioning, unlike cask-conditioned beers which continue to develop flavour and carbonation in the pub cellar.

While CMBC has indicated that, following feedback from CAMRA, it will label so-called “fresh ale” served through handpumps as “brewery conditioned beer”, the Campaign fears this will still confuse customers and erode their long-held understanding that only cask beer is served in this way.

The Campaign is also concerned that CMBC’s plan will reduce choice to consumers and by taking up handpump space elbows out genuine cask beers produced by smaller, independent brewers.

Beer handpumps on bars have long been the easily recognisable sign of the freshness and quality of cask beer – and CAMRA fully intends to enforce its long-standing policy that beer drinkers should not be misled at the point of dispense through the sale of non-live, non-cask beer through handpumps.

CAMRA National Director and Chair of the Real Ale, Cider and Perry Campaigns Committee, Gillian Hough said: “It’s baffling why CMBC feels the need to serve a keg beer through cask ale handpumps in the first place, when it would seem to be simpler and more honest to simply serve it through keg taps, as with all other keg products.

“It would be even better if this company, despite claiming to be incredibly proud to be a leading brewer of cask ale, actually invested in producing new cask ales and supporting its existing beers. It’s particularly ironic that instead it has spent time closing the historic breweries in their portfolio and now wants to cash in on that cask heritage with a keg product which hijacks the handpump.

“Even with additional labelling, our fear is customers – especially those who perhaps don’t understand a term like “brewery conditioned” or don’t notice the small print- will be confused. It also seems likely that over time this potentially misleading approach will erode the image of the iconic beer handpump as a clear symbol of cask conditioned beer.

“We believe that beer drinkers should be fully informed at the point of dispense and we will continue to condemn dispense practices that seek to mislead the consumer, particularly by selling non-live, non-cask beers through cask beer handpumps.

“CAMRA calls on CMBC to either provide a genuinely live and fresh beer to be served through handpumps, to give the drinker what they expect and want, or to be honest and serve this so-called “fresh beer” through keg taps

Are you interested in pubs and inns, especially the history and meaning of their names, also inn signs and their history?
If so, this could be for you!
The Inn Sign Society
For ONLY £15 a year, you receive 4 quarterly 32 page full colour illustrated Journals packed with articles on all types of inn and pub signs. Members can access our Archives, plus feature pages; ‘Signs of the Month’, 'Sign of the Year’ award, & 'Lost Signs'.

More information is available here

Congratulations to Sarah Hughes Brewery, who has won overall Gold in CAMRA’s Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer Festival Winter for their Snowflake barley wine!
Judges described the beer as a “beautiful amber barley wine. The fruity, slightly spiced nose invited the drinker to indulge. The rich, smooth, sweet palate had orange spicy notes balanced by a growing bitterness, leading to a spicy dry bitterness. Remarkably moreish.”
Congratulations also go to Joint Silver runner ups:
Elland Brewery – 1872 Porter
Muirhouse brewery - Magnum Mild

Bays Charity Beers 2024 Bays Brewery is saying ‘cheers’ to some top Devon charities throughout 2024 with the launch of four brand new limited-edition ‘Charity Brews’.

Available at various times throughout the year in bottles, cask and beer boxes, each brew will support a worthy local cause in a bid to give something back to the community.

The first charity brew ‘Tracker Ale’ will be available from February, with 5% of proceeds going towards Dartmoor Search & Rescue (Ashburton).

More details of other beers available here

The minutes can be found here
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Good news for the CAMRA community and congratulations to The Drewsteignton Community Society Limited!

The Drewe Arms

1. Drewe Arms passes into private ownership as the locals unite to save the pub.
2. The Drewe Arms was once home to Britain’s longest serving landlady, Mabel Mudge who served behind the bar for 75 years!
3. The community has bought the historic Grade ll pub.

The Drewe Arms on Dartmoor is a thatched grade II inn dating from the 17th Century and included in CAMRA’s national list for historic pub interiors, has been sold to the local community
The inn has been bought by The Drewsteignton Community Society Limited which was created by a number of the local residents who are keen to save the pub and protect it for future generations. The group established a crowd-funding initiative to raise funds to not only purchase the venue, but to start making the necessary repairs and improvements to create a sustainable model and to celebrate the pub’s rich history, location and layout.
Speaking on behalf of the new owners, Toby Rubbra comments: ‘We have all known The Drewe for many years and it had been devastating to see its decline and eventual closure in 2022. Some of us were involved in helping Mabel Mudge with the site when she retired in the early nineties after 75 years behind the bar! Knowing what a great venue it has been and could be, a few of us got together and talked about how we might secure the pub and keep the village as a local hub. These conversations evolved and with considerable help, guidance and community support we are now in the happy position we are in today.’

South-West commercial agents Vickery Holman acted for the previous owners of the inn and handling the process, Mike Easton comments, ‘This was truly a rare opportunity to own a piece of Dartmoor’s history and to invest in what we consider a sleeping giant of a venue. Our understanding is that this may be the first time the Drewe has been owned by a private individual, having been under brewery ownership for as long as anyone can remember. The venue offers much, particularly with the underused Long Room (function room) at the rear and the location on the edge of the Moor, right on the Two Moors Way and within 20 minutes of Exeter. I look forward to seeing the pub up and running again and the community’s plans develop, and I would like to thank the community steering group in the positive way they have approached the process.’
It is reported that a public house stood on the site earlier than the current building and there have been various names over the years. It was recorded as the New Inn in the 1890’s and the Druid’s Inn until the 1920’s when it changed again to the name it holds today, The Drewe Arms. This latest name derived from Julius Drewe, the tea merchant who built Castle Drogo nearby. From 1919 until 1994 the Drewe Arms was run by Mabel Mudge, who retired aged 99 after 75 years in situ.
Glyn and Jane Martin, part of the steering group add ‘Now we have completed the purchase, the initial plan will be to open in March next year with ‘pop-up’ events in the meantime. We have engaged Simon Saunders who is a well-respected publican and known to many on Dartmoor. He plans to manage the pub while retaining his own successful business in Chagford. In addition, we will be looking at a better use of the Long room and creating a more efficient use of the kitchen and dining facilities whilst maintaining the key ingredient – that of the heritage of the pub. Longer term we have plans to reintroduce accommodation so that customers can stay and get the true Dartmoor community experience.’

Toby concludes ‘In short, we could not have achieved any of this without the financial support of the hundreds of people who have bought shares and donated to the cause and for that we are very thankful. We already know that there will be support for our working parties to start to repair and restore this fantastic Devon Inn and to see our local and wider community give so generously is heartwarming indeed.’

The Drewe Arms was sold off a guide price of £500,000 via www.vickeryholman

The October Meeting Minutes and December Meeting Agenda are now available here in the Members' Area of our website (Login required)