2010-07-02

In association with the Fishermans Arms on the Barbican we have raised £158 for cancer charity St Luke's Hospice. The pub held a beer-themed quiz and raffle event, forming part of our celebration of Cask Ale Week, promoting Britain's national drink. Licensee Martyn Scott said: "I was delighted to host the event. We had a great night. I'd like to extend the warmest thanks to all those who came along and made the evening such a success." Rob Hick, our spokesman and quizmaster on the evening, added: "It was a brilliant evening. I really hope we can do something similar next year. The questions were tough, but I think everybody enjoyed themselves! "And I really must give my thanks to Martyn for making it all happen." See The Herald Fri 02 July 2010 for the full story and picture.

2010-06-28

A great fundraising Weekend was held at The Horse and Groom in Bittaford, their “1st Summer & Beer Festival“ over the last weekend of June. This was in association with some local breweries and cider makers: Hunter’s Brewery of Ipplepen; St Austell Brewery; Skinners of Truro; South Hams Brewery of Stokenham; Summerskills of Plymouth; Teignworthy of Newton Abbot; Ashridge Ciders of Staverton and Heron Valley Ciders of Loddiswell. The Fundraising efforts of the Horse & Groom team Rose & Jim and Dawn & Olly, helped by Lynn, Jim, Dodger, Mike and Rodger, and their customers managed to raise a total of £ 400 for the ERME VALLEY RIDING FOR THE DISABLED ASSOCIATION (RDA) between Bittaford and Ugborough through a donation of 50 pence for every pint sold in the “www.horse-fest.com“ Beer Tent and the proceeds of the Pig Roast (thanks to Rodger & Aune Valley Meats), and £ 122.50 for the “CHESTNUT APPEAL” for Prostate Cancer with a Raffle & a Charity Auction.

2010-05-31

Pubs in addition to JDW offering pints of real ale for £2 or less - the Maritime Inn on the Barbican is offering Summerskills MRB for £2 a pint; the Noahs Ark and the Bank are reported to be offering real ale at £1.89 a pint and that recently this applied to Marstons EPA.

2010-05-05

Two city bars are understood to be on a £500million sell-off hit list drawn up by their owners. Mitchells and Butlers, home to about a dozen well-known chains, is set to shed around 300 venues as part of the multi-million-pound plan. Union Street nightclub Flares and Drake Circus pub the Roundabout, part of the firm’s Scream chain, are believed to be among those it is looking to offload. The Birmingham-based managed pubs company says it is looking to move away from the drinks-led market and concentrate on its food-based brands, such as Harvester, Toby Carvery and Vintage Inns. It would not be drawn on whether that would mean the sale of its Town Pubs brand, which includes city centre spots the Bank and the Noah’s Ark. The group currently has ten sites in the Plymouth area including the China House in Sutton Wharf, the Jack Rabbit in Derriford and Plympton’s Lord Louis. It is believed to be retaining these, along with its Harvester at Marsh Mills, the George in Roborough and the Chaddlewood Inn at Plympton. Source: Plymouth Herald Online 05.05.10

2010-04-29

St Austell Brewery has made an addition to its pub estate with the acquisition of an historic South Devon town centre business. The White Hart Hotel and Assembly Rooms, in Modbury, were sold to the brewery off an asking price of £675,000. The freehold was marketed on behalf of the vendor, local farmer and businessman John Coyte, by Taylor Son & Creber. The inn occupies a prime location on the main road through Modbury and is typical of the historic town's Georgian and Regency style buildings. It has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and comprises a ground-floor bar and dining area with outside covered terrace, first-floor function room and bar, five letting bedrooms and a separate one-bedroom cottage studio. Nick Wheeldon, director of Taylor Son & Creber, said: "John Coyte bought the White Hart over 20 years ago in a derelict condition and spent six years sympathetically restoring the pub and the historically significant Assembly Rooms. "Although he never personally ran the business as a pub, he has been entirely committed to conserving this wonderful building for the community. "Mr Coyte is delighted the White Hart will continue to play a central role in the lives of the people of Modbury, both as a pub and as a community venue for functions, clubs, weddings and business use. "He is confident with the expertise that St Austell Brewery will provide, the future of the White Hart will be in safe hands." St Austell's estate director Adam Luck added: "We are very pleased to have the White Hart, Modbury, as the latest addition to the St Austell Brewery pub estate. "It will be run by Tim and Liz Hore, who are also our tenants of the Victoria Inn, another successful St Austell Brewery-owned pub in Salcombe. "Tim and Liz are looking forward to re-establishing the White Hart at the centre of Modbury community life." Source: Plymouth Herald Online 29.04.10

2010-04-26

Customers of The Admiral MacBride, The Walrus and The Yard Arm pubs in Plymouth are to be encouraged to make a voluntary donation to WaterAid. From May 1 more than 100 establishments will take part in Tap into WaterAid. The initiative asks customers to make a voluntary donation to WaterAid when they request tap water. The suggested donation is 15p for a glass or jug of tap water. Nigel Ledger, managing director of Relax Inns, which operates the pubs, said: "I think Tap into WaterAid will be really popular with our customers." Source: Plymouth Herald Online 26.04.10

2010-04-23

Pub landlord firm Punch Taverns will pump £2.5million into its 290 South West outlets this year as the company announced a pre-tax profit of £66 million. The figure, for the half year to March 6, 2010, was down from £82million in the same period last year, a time during which pubs generally struggled with the effects of recession and bad weather. Punch Taverns, which has 44 pubs in the Plymouth area is predicting a hot summer and World Cup football will improve pubs' fortunes. Clive Greene, Punch's regional operations manager, who has worked in Plymouth for 21 years, said: "It's a very healthy business. We have resilient business people. It's bouncing back." He said that by August he will have spent £2.5million on pub upgrades within 12 months. This includes work in the Plymouth area where the city centre's Eagle, Boringdon Arms at Turnchapel, Burrator Inn at Yelverton, and the Barbican's Dolphin, have all undergone face-lifts this year. Mr Greene said the Queens Arms in Tamerton Foliot is about to re-launch following a £100,000 revamp. And other pubs scheduled for work include the Ships Tavern and Kings Head in Plymstock, and Ivybridge's Duke of Cornwall. Source: Plymouth Herald Online 23.04.10

2010-04-12

The Barbican Tavern reopened on Good Friday and is reported to be selling Exmoor Stag and St Austell Tribute.

2010-04-12

The beer festival accompanying the relaunch of the Dolphin on the Barbican is reported to have been very successful. It is hoped that some of the ales featured will return as guests throughout the year.

2010-04-12

As part of Cask Ale week the Branch hosted a quiz at the Fishermans Arms on Easter Monday evening successfully compiled and compered by Rob. The event raised a fantastic £158 for St. Luke's Hospice.

2010-02-02

The Royal Oak at Meavy is featuring food from around the world for the next two months, with the menu changing every Friday: 29th January to 4th February ~ Mexican, 5th to 11th February ~ Spanish, 12th to 18th February ~ Italian, 19th to 25th February ~ Greek, 26th February to 4th March ~ French, 5th to 11th March ~ Moroccan, 12th to 18th March ~ Hungarian, 19th to 25th March ~ Caribbean, 26th March to 1st April ~ Thai.