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Against the Grain back in production
 Wold Top Brewery New label for new brew Mash Tun and production line  Jill Mellor, Sonja Haggett & Tom Mellor toast the new brew After a break of 2 months during which trials were undertaken to find a new brewer for Against the Grain. We can now advise all our loyal customers that Against the Grain will shortly be going out to those of you who have been waiting patiently for your favourite tipple. All the necessary tests have been done and the bottles will soon be arriving on your doorstep. News from Northern Cyprus
More Against the Grain
News. Newsletter May 07 Is AGAINST THE GRAIN brain food? As many of you know we have a thriving membership in
Northern Cyprus led by our previous Chairman, Bernard Heaton. Even before
the club was formed we have been shipping English beer out to the island
on a regular basis with differing degrees of success. The goalposts
have been changed several times but we have managed to adapt to their
varying regulations. We now have new agents who seem to be keen to
work with the club on a long term basis and the current shipment is being
collated from 6 different brewers at the time of writing. For more information about beer, how it is brewed, matching beer to food and the different types and origins of beer take a look at www.beerexpert.co.uk where you will find lots to interest you Newsletter 3rd April 2007 Essex Book Festival 2007 at Prettygate Library
NEWSLETTER 17th January 2007
Not everything is focused on Colchester, the club sponsors
the shirt of Jason Puncheon an exciting footballer who plays for Barnet
football club. He scored the winning goal that got Barnet through to the
next round in the F.A cup (sorry Colchester United). I shall be
watching his progress even though I have supported Arsenal since I was 10
(in the year dot of course) Club members in Cyprus held a beer tasting in October and
the following are the comments in the local paper
NEWSLETTER 4th December 2006 Christmas orders are being sent out now and anyone who orders in December will be entered into the draw for a New Year Hamper. This will be worth £25.00 and contain goodies from local shops and producers, chocolates, smoked fish and meat, jams, chutneys and biscuits and of course some of our fine ales. I have some of the popular 5 litre casks of Summer Lightning in stock again, so don't forget to order a couple for your parties. I have attended a couple of Christmas shopping evenings and although I didn't sell much on the night orders have been taken for delivery later in the month. Anyone who hasn't booked for the Mayor's Charity supper in January needs to be quick to snap up the last 4 tickets. Don't forget you get four bottles of beer included with the meal of Seafood Platter from the Company Shed at West Mersea, followed by Bangers and Mash from Proctors of Colchester and rounded off with Old Growler fruit cake and Cheese from Leek Brewery. The cakes are looking and smelling good and have a few more additions this year which I will leave you to guess at. The beers this year will include some of the new additions to our list that come from both ends of the country as well as some delicious ciders. The selection is from 15 different types. As all the stock is back at Layer de la Haye I have been busy laying a brick path to keep members feet dry, as the lorries have done a pretty good job of churning up the approach to the warehouse. I still don't have any electricity laid on so if you are coming to collect your orders please make it in daylight. A quick phone call to alert me is all that is needed and if I am not in the warehouse I am usually round the corner in my cottage. If I don't speak to you before I wish all our members a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years Cheers! Sonja
Newsletter September 14th 2006 I have 6 tickets left for the Mayor of Colchester's Charity Supper 12th January, 2007 and doubt very much if I will be able to obtain anymore at the last moment as I have already had 74 tickets booked and I know that the Mayor's Secretary has only 20 tickets left. Anyone who has attended previous Suppers knows what a great evening is in store. (Look at the photos and report from last year Saturday 14th January!!! ) This Saturday 16th September Kingswode Hoe School in Lexden, Colchester is holding a Harvest Food Fair, and the Club will be represented. Friday November 24th The Layer de la Haye Pre-School Learning Alliance are holding their annual Christmas Shopping evening, a good place to place your Christmas orders for some Selection boxes to send to far flung freinds and relatives who will be amazed and pleased to receive some wonderful and difficult to obtain beers instead of socks and handkerchiefs! Any current member introducing a new member to the club during OCTOBER will receive a special gift of four new beers from our list for FREE! I look forward to hearing from you and arranging the despatch of your orders, please feel free to call me at anytime to discuss club matters and get advice about your selection.
Cheers!
Newsletter 19th July 2006 At the time of writing I am busy preparing for The Great British Beer Festival Trade Day at Earls Court on 1st of August, 5 cases of bottle conditioned 'Against the Grain' will be on sale to the general public, I believe it is the first gluten free beer that they have had at the GBBF although as most of you will know it has featured at other festivals throughout the country. I am very excited with this beer, it is going from strength to strength and Wayne Moore at Oulton Ales who does the brewing sometimes has a hard time keeping up with the demand. We have a brew on the go at the moment and apart from 3 x 9 gallon casks it will all be bottled with the hope that we can keep up with the orders! A further brew for casks will be started almost immediately as I am expecting another sizeable order from the Angel Inn, James tells me that people are drinking the cask ale in the pub then taking a case of bottles home with them! On to a slightly different subject, that of bottled beer in pubs. How often do you see in a pub a range of bottled beer? I am not talking about all the lagers in various shapes and disguises, but real ale. I think landlords are really missing out by not offering a range either to match their draught ales or to compliment them. I was in a very pleasant pub recently and they didn't have one single bottle of beer, four or five lagers and a huge blackboard full of wines but no beer to take home. I have offered them 'Against the Grain' so we shall see if there is any change next time I visit. This is my new soapbox subject to get pubs to offer decent bottled beer to take out or to add to the enjoyment of a meal. You will see that we have a few new breweries added to the list, Triple fff from Hampshire, Wooden Hand from Cornwall, Isle of Skye and cider from Cornish Orchards. This means that to make sure I can hold reasonable stocks I need larger premises and help with the despatching, so I am negotiating at present for that to happen over the next couple of months. Those of you who regularly collect from the warehouse will need to give me a little bit more notice to make sure that I can have your order ready for collection when you arrive. I may need to make a nominal charge for deliveries in Essex as it won't be me hopping in the car and delivering. Anyone else who places orders on the internet will not be affected. GOLD FASSL is coming at last I have been told that 3 pallets have been loaded on board German Senator and will be sailing from N. Cyprus on 21st July so with a fair wind and no hold ups at customs new supplies will be here at the end of August!!!Speaking of N. Cyprus we had a run in with the Health ministry there and inspite of doing everything asked of us to declare the ingredients of all the beer we sent out, they refused to allow the 3 Batemans beers in to circulation because their labels don't say what the ingredients are. So these will be returning at some time so watch out for their arrival if you are a fan of Victory Ale, XXXB or Combined Harvest.
Bob Bush, Bernard Heaton, Harry Jackson, Liz Bush, Dick Shepherd Jackie Davis barmaid Pat Franks landlord Ginnie Nye landlady Pam Dawson-Hollis barmaid These photos were brought back by Bernard Heaton after his last sojourn in Northern Cyprus where he spends more time now that he no longer runs the club Anyone who attended the Essex Wildlife event and the Stanway School Fayre had the opportunity to sample sausages from Willsher & Son Butchers in Marks Tey made with Nethergates Old Growler and local beef. Andy has added this recipe to his range of quality sausages and I hear they are going well. Many members have popped in and bought a couple of pounds and at £4.63 a kilo I always stock up when he has a fresh batch in. You need to check as they are made in rotation with his other recipes tel 01206 210365. As yet he doesn't send out by post but who knows maybe if he gets enough enquiries he will. At the Essex Wildlife and
Country Fair I met the publisher of "Free House Owner" magazine and he
is going to do a write up about the club for the September issue so the
attendance was worth it for that alone. Some new members joined and
were surprised at the range and quality of our beers. The 1st prize
of 5litre cask of Summer lightning went to D Chaplin of Basildon,
2nd prize 6 bottles of Hook Norton beer to Tim Lawrence of North Fambridge. Stanway School Fayre
prize winners 1st Jeff Suckling, and 2nd Paul Bickmore after a slow
start on a lovely summer's day the beer tent soon became busy and again
new enthusiasts were added to the membership. Chappel Disco and Festival had to be cancelled, because the floor of the hall for the disco was deemed unsafe and the festival clashed with the World Cup and Wimbledon finals. Harvest Festival Food Fayre 16th September Kingswood Hoe School, Lexden . Fine Ale Club will be stocking the bar for tasting and ordering. Christmas Shopping Evening 24th November, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Layer de la Haye, Fine Ale Club will have our stall again so don't forget to stock up for Christmas Mayor of Colchester Charity Supper 12th January 07, already 70 tickets booked by club members as you know space is limited to about 175 people so make sure your name is on the list as you wouldn't want to miss out at what usually turns out to be a riotous( in the nicest possible way) evening, see photos of last years supper Please let me know if you want to arrange a tasting or special event and I will pass the details on to Helen, our new Events Manager, she is very knowledgeable about beer and enjoys meeting people and advising them about what makes a party go with a swing. That brings me up to date so I'll just say Cheers! until the next time Sonja 8th June 2006 When an order of Against the Grain was returned to our depot, I emailed the regular customer to see why it had been sent back. This is the reply I received- 19th May 2006 Dear Member, Since I last wrote there have been
great strides in the sale of our exclusive gluten free beer, Against the
Grain. Just this week orders have been placed by The Angel Inn in
Holmesfield, just south of Sheffield, for a regular supply of both draught
and bottled Against the Grain. From the beginning of June every Tuesday
their entire restaurant menu will be completely gluten and wheat free. Moor Park Stores, an off licence in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, will be stocking our bottled Against the Grain from the end of this month and the Queens Arms in Bottallack near St Just in Cornwall, also has bottled Against the Grain in stock, this is enjoyed by all the customers not just those who are gluten intolerant. If you haven't already tried Against the Grain, you will have the opportunity to try it on draught at the Cambridge and Colchester CAMRA festivals during the week 22-27th May. Someone tried to steal an 18 gallon cask from the Cambridge Festival, it would appear that the taste is so good they were willing to risk arrest to try it! Watch this space for news of Against the Grain at the Great British Beer Festival later this year. At the end of March we shipped out 1 pallet each of Hopback, Bateman and Hook Norton bottled beers as well as 2 pallets of draught beer from Oulton Ales to our members in Northern Cyprus. This is the first time that draught beer has been exported to Northern Cyprus and inspite of some bureaucratic difficulties our loyal members have agreed it was well worth the effort. Those of you have been enquiring about the lack of Gold Fassl lager will be pleased to know that 3 pallets are on their way, I don't have an arrival time yet but as payment for the beer was made at the end of April, I should here from the shipping line any day now. Those of you who attended the St George's Day Barbecue showed true English spirit as the weather was less than kind, but inspite of that everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and sampled a good array of different beers. The local meat went down well and even though there were intermittent showers we managed to cook on the Barbecue in the garden and it was just the last few arrivals who were driven indoors by a violent downpour. Your trusty tasting panel (me and 4 other members) sampled 4 beers from the Triple fff Brewery in Hampshire and 2 from The Wooden Hand Brewery in Cornwall and we were bowled over by the high quality so you will find them on the list along with 2 ciders that we think deserve a place in our range. Occasionally a member has a twinge of conscience and thinks that maybe they should get a little something for their wife or partner, well I have discovered a talented lady in the village who makes very special handmade soaps, she has a range of 18 different types and I will be putting together some gift packs that can be included in your case, (wrapped separately so no perfume can spoil the beer!) Of course you lady members can also choose a present for your other half as some of the selection will have masculine overtones. Speaking of lady members, I am always glad to welcome you and I am sure that many women are put off drinking beer because they only get to drink draught beer in a pub that may not have been kept properly. CAMRA are at last doing something about encouraging pubs to stock real bottled beer as well as the range of lagers that you are offered if you ask for a bottle of beer. Of course if that catches on I may be out of business and will retire and write my memoirs. Now that is something you wouldn't want to read. Enough for now I am off to label more bottles of Against the Grain, yes they are all hand labelled. best wishes Sonja Dates for your diary June 3rd Tolleshunt D'arcy Fair will have a beer tent stocked with our beers on a sale or return basis, as there will be four Tog of War teams in attendance I am not expecting many returns! Stanway Fayre June 24th for details see January Newsletter July 9th Chappel Festival will see me attending with a different range of beer from our list, and some new names for your to try.
Newsletter 3rd March 2006 March 15th Tiptree Tipplers Beer Tasting evening at St Luke's Church Hall, Tiptree Event of the Season St George's Day
Barbecue at Club Headquarters Tickets will be £15.00 per head and include all the food you can eat plus 2 bottles/pints of beer (non-drinkers and children, who must be under control, £10.00) All our bottled beers will be available and Summer Lightning on Draught. The meat is from local farms as will be most of the salad. Those of you have tasted Old Growler fruit cake will be able to sample some more, and maybe take home some mini cakes for later. The music situation hasn't been finalised I am hoping that we can have live music from some of the members. Just in case the weather turns nasty there is undercover space available. I look forward to seeing some of you who were unable to get to the previous events that have been such a success.
Two events have taken place since my last letter. The Chesterfield CAMRA beer festival and The Hasten's Restaurant Curry & Beer Evening. The Festival was held on 3rd & 4th
February and our own Against the Grain was in a prominent position
with both draught and bottles available. This was in the part of the
festival dedicated to gluten free beer and I am reliably informed that
Against the Grain sold out of three firkins and 40 x 12 bottle
cases. There were beers from all over the world and for those of you
who would like to know more you can view pictures on the website at
www.glutenfreebeerfestival.com you will also see that ATG
was awarded a blue rosette at the independent tasting held after the
festival, we were up against some stiff competition. Hasten's Restaurant Curry & Beer Evening. 17th February. Another great evening when members and friends got together for some of Keith Nicholson's curries accompanied by a choice from the full range of Fine Ale Club beers that are always available from the display in the restuarant. It was such a success that further events of the same nature are being planned on a regular basis with different themes throughout the year. This was not a beer tasting as such but the opportunity to see all the different beers that we offer in one place.
Don't forget to ask for Enjoyment4All vouchers for those special occasions when your loved ones can't think what to get you. They can be purchased at any Post Office and redeemed by The Fine Ale Club. They can also be used as rewards and incentives by businesses. I am off now to try and make a start on tidying up the garden and surroundings in anticipation of the barbecue, at present I have daily visits from about 20 pheasants who wait every morning for me to dish out the corn and seed, they have made quite an inroad into the vegetable patch as well as scarifying the lawn for me. As the saying goes every little helps Newsletter 16th January 2006 Now that Christmas and New Year are safely past, it is time to look through holiday brochures and seed catalogues with a fine glass of ale in your hand so here's looking forward to receiving all your orders to help you with those tasks! 13th January 2006 Mayor of Colchester's Charity Beer Tasting Supper Phew what a Night! no sign of bad luck when over 170 people sat down to this annual event. Once again the Company Shed of West Mersea, supplied the seafood platter for starters, this was followed by a selection of sausages from Proctors and then the evening was rounded off with Old Growler luxury fruit cake and Staffordshire Brewery & Creamery cheeses. 5 beers from our list was the choice for the aperitif and each course had further choice of 4 beers. Each brewery represented donated a case of their ale , Hook Norton 303AD, Batemans Victory Ale, Wold Top Mars Magic, Nethergates Suffolk County, Oulton Ales Sunrise and Hop Back supplied 2 mini casks of their Summer Lightning, towards the prizes for the raffle, which raised over £1100.00.
Batemans Victory Ale 
 Derek & club members waiting for cake It is getting late and ....... ...... we're all having a good time Saturday 14th January!!! You can see for yourself why over 60
tickets have already been booked for next year's supper to be held on 12th January
2007. Both Derek Rocholl, club secretary, and I spoke to as many happy diners as possible and from the discussions there is obviously a great appreciation for events of this type and we are always happy to assist by supplying beer at similar functions and private parties. Back to September 14th More events to take note of:- Hasten's Halt Restuarant in East Mersea will be holding an all you can eat Curry and Beer Supper 17th February, £10.95 per head please book by 10th February
Wild life Trust open weekend at Abberton Reservoir 3rd & 4th June Stanway Fayre Saturday June 24th 10a.m. - 4.p.m at The Stanway School, Winstree Road, Stanway Colchester CO3 0QA
Christmas Shopping Night 24th November Queen Elizabeth Hall, Layer
de la Haye. Here's what some members think of
Against the Grain our gluten free beer :- Steve Ford 10 December 05 'I was very surprised by your brew, which I opened to find it was ..well..."blond". This was a bit of a shock, as I expected ( and usually go for ) a darker brew. Beggars can't be choosers, I thought, but I have to say I really enjoyed it. A few days later, I sampled another GF brew, to remain nameless, which wasn't a patch on ATG. Very Good . Very Tasty' Since then Steve has been full of praise for our beer and would like to represent us in his part of the country! We are doing our best to export this beer to USA but we are coming up against their labelling regulations, but don't worry with help from an agent in New York we hope to get this sorted out and then all systems will be go for export.!! ------------------------------------------- Newsletter 5/04 December 05 I am writing this on 20th December
between packing orders and waiting for members to collect. It is very cold
and with tomorrow being the shortest day it is already dark, I don't
really need an excuse but this evening I will be curling up in front of a
wood fire with one of my favourite tipples and let my aching limbs relax
after lugging boxes about for most of the day. The Club will be backing the England
football team in the World Cup and no 123
Hook Norton 303A.D,
Derek, the club secretary, has come up with a winning idea for gift vouchers for the club. They will be available to purchase through the Post Office, and in the same way that you can send a book token you will now be able to send a beer token/voucher that the recipient can use to make their own choice and redeem the voucher through the club. More details will be circulated once everything is in place.
 Christmas Shopping Night 25th November 05 8 th December Colchester and District Agricultural Club Beer and Wine Tasting at the Pavilion, Castle Park Colchester.In spite of thick fog and the iciest night of the year in Colchester so far, this event was well attended. I took along some beer from two farmers in Yorkshire who have diversified into brewing and these naturally raised a lot of interest from fellow farmers and resulted in several orders for Wold Top Mars Magic. Although this was the first time I had been to the Agricultural Club there were some familiar faces amongst those attending, some farmers of my acquaintance as well as a couple of Fine Ale Club members. I will ask that next year we hold the tasting just after harvest and maybe include a Barbecue at the Fine Ale Club premises. If I forget somebody please remind me. The Hastens
Hamper due to the sudden ill health of the Chef at
Hastens Restuarant and Smokery these had to be cancelled. so our
apologies for those of you who were hoping to sample our wares over
Christmas. However we will offer these as an on going option all year
round once he is back on his feet. I think that is just about everything up to date, I look forward to meeting some of you at events next year, so don't forget to remind me that I said we will be holding some exclusive club events and your suggestions are welcomed. With very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year Sonja Haggett Harrods Beer Tasting 20th September
At the tasting I met Mohammed Al Fayed and he asked for samples of the beers to be presented to him. The consequence is that Batemans Victory Ale, Oulton Sunrise and our own 'Against the Grain' will be carrying a neck label stating "selected for Harrods". At the tasting I met a representative
from the Hogs Back Brewery and I hope to add some of their beers to our
list before long. There were other interesting beers on view and when I
can I will try out some more samples for you. It really is a hard task ! Trafalgar Day 21st October 2005 
 Jodie finishes setting up Soft drinks as well In the party mood Refreshment on the train A good time was had by 150 people who celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, after watching the beacon being lit, everyone moved to the Goods Shed at Chappel, near Colchester, for Fine Ale, hamburgers and dancing to the disco Non-members where intrigued at the range of beer available and we had a few converts from lager! We have been asked to provide a beer tent for next year's Chappel fete in July, so this is one to add to your new diary. Gt Horkesley Wine Centre Bonfire, Chilli and Beer Tasting 11th November 
 Inspite of lashing rain and howling wind, many people were glad they had braved the elements to taste a very full range of beers. The Fine Ale Club were well represented by eight of our range, Wold Top Falling Stone, Against the Grain, Frog Island Natterjack, Hook Norton Twelve Days, Batemans Victory Ale, Hook Norton Double Stout, Oulton Ales Roaring Boy and finally our own Everything's Gone Blank. Nethergates were represented by Old Growler, Umbel Ale and Suffolk County Best Bitter, so you could say that our list was well covered. During the previous week Anthony Borges had been selling these beers in the Wine centre and several of the guests went home with a selection to enjoy in more comfortable circumstances. With a fresh autumnal nip in the air it
is time to think about trying out some of our seasonal and heavier beers
on the list. Some of our lady members would recommend 'Everything's Gone Blank!' judging by the repeat orders! and it is a best seller with one of our wholesale customers as well. Summon up the nerve to try it and you will be glad you did.
CHRISTMAS HAMPERS Coeliac Sensations of Colchester now have ready a choice of 2 Christmas hampers please contact me for details and I will send you the contents and price. Please place your order by 10th December to make sure you receive your hamper in time for the festivities . For those who are gluten intolerant, or have friends or family who suffer in the same way, Coeliac Sensations hamper means you can safely enjoy some luxuries at Christmas and with the inclusion of 3 bottles of "Against the Grain" you can toast the New Year as well as Christmas.
GIFT PACKS
Brewery News Batemans Spring Breeze came and went as did Summer Swallow both proved very popular so watch out for them next spring and summer, we will soon have their winter ale Rosey Nosey in stock but there has been a hold up due to label production. At the time of writing I understand that Victory Ale is selling well in Harrods, I know it is popular locally and I expect more orders for nearer the time of the Trafalgar day celebrations on 21st October. Hook Norton have added a new line to their range. This is to celebrate the English, by using English malt and English hops 303 A.D. is a real English beer. If you are wondering at the significance of the date, it was the year St George is reputed to have slain the dragon, try a couple of glasses and see if it has the same effect on you. Events
Special Offers: the stocks of these items are dwindling but we can still offer to members only (i) Ridleys Prospect & Rumpus £14.00 per case of 12 x 500ml bottles of these familiar ales once brewed by Ridleys themselves and now brewed by Greene King since the takeover. We have a small stock of the last brewings at Hartford End at a give away price. (ii) All our out of date stock has gone but watch for further great offers in the New Year I am fully licensed now so we can breathe easy.
Cheers |
The Fine Ale Club, Layer Hall
Farm, Layer de la Haye, Colchester CO2 0ET
tel: 01206 734372 | e-mail:
finealeclub@onetel.com
Jason Puncheon
