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Abercolwyn Area Awards 2008
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Penrhyn Arms, Penrhynside –
Penrhyn Arms, Penrhynside is CAMRA Welsh Cider & Perry Pub of
the Year 2008 |
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It’s been a great year for John & Sharon Sumbland at the
Penrhyn Arms in Penrhynside as far as cider and
perry are concerned. Earlier this year they won the Abercolwyn
CAMRA award for Cider Pub of the Year and then went on to win
the Regional Competition for Merseyside, Cheshire & North
Wales and it has now named the best cider pub for the whole of
Wales . A presentation took place at the pub recently where
the four ciders and one perry on offer were all Welsh. From
Gwynt-y-Draig in Pontypridd were Farmhouse Sweet and Haymaker
plus Two Trees Perry and, hailing from Llandegla near Wrexham,
were Rosies Triple D Medium and Dry (both 7.2%). There was
some great food served at the presentation including cider
sausages, gammon cooked in cider and even bara brith made from
cider. This caps off a great year from John & Sharon as they
recently celebrated the arrival of their second child Lydia .
Landlord John was on hand to receive the accolade for Welsh
Cider & Perry Pub of the Year 2008 and was delighted that his
efforts had been recognised by members of CAMRA and locals
alike.
Pictured is John Sumbland (left) receiving the award from Ian
Saunders, CAMRA’s Regional Cider Co-ordinator for North Wales
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Wings Social Club, Colwyn Bay – Branch Club of the Year,
Regional Club of the Year |
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 A
local social club had just received a major award from CAMRA
(Campaign for Real Ale). After winning the local Club of the
Year competition earlier this year, the Wings Social Club in
Colwyn Bay had been voted Regional Club of the Year 2008 by
members of CAMRA from Merseyside, Cheshire & North Wales. This
means that the club is now recognised by CAMRA as being in the
top 16 clubs in the country. There were a couple of special
guests at the presentation including Assembly Member Mark
Isherwood and CAMRA Regional Director for Merseyside, Cheshire
& North Wales Ian Garner. Speaking at the presentation Mr.
Garner commended the pub on serving excellent quality real
ales and said the judges had been very impressed with the
welcome they received at the club and the hospitality extended
to them. Ian singled out steward Dawn Prosser-Richards for
particular praise for keeping the ale in such good order. The
club serves beers from the J.W. Lees brewery: Brewers Dark,
Bitter and a seasonal beer such as John Willies, a premium
4.5% bitter. Dawn put on a fantastic buffet for the
presentation that included a lamb stew cooked in real ale and
a great time was had by all. |
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Penrhyn Arms, Penrhynside – Branch Pub of the Year, Branch
Cider & Perry Pub of the Year, Regional Cider Pub of the Year,
Welsh Cider & Perry Pub of the Year
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The Penrhyn Arms in Penrhynside has been
presented with the award for Regional Cider pub of the Year .
Early this year, the pub won the Abercolwyn Branch Cider Pub
of the Year making it the best cider pub in the county of
Conwy but this Regional award now makes it the best in the
region of Merseyside, Cheshire & North Wales and is now in a
competition to make the best in all of Wales . Why so many
accolades? Well, quite simply, it is the best outlet for miles
around for quality cider and perry at competitive prices. The
pubs reputation has spread far and wide meaning that it is
able to stock up to four ciders and a perry at any one time.
At the recent presentation there were two from the south of
England : Black Rat and Cheddar Valley , a Gwynt-y-Draig
Malvern Hills Perry from Pontypridd and two local ciders from
Llandegla near Wrexham Rosies Triple D and Wicked Wasp. The
presentation was attended by many locals and CAMRA members
including Ian Saunders – CAMRA Regional Cider Co-ordinator for
North Wales and Rhys Jones who is a member of CAMRA’s National
Committee for cider and Perry. Pictured is Rhys Jones (left)
presenting the award to licensee John Sumbland (seen drinking
a pint of Wicked Wasp).
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Valentine, Llanddulas – Most Improved Pub of the Year |
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Most Improved Pub of the Year 2008 had gone
to the Valentine in Llanddulas. Licensee Richard Rhodes is
therefore for the first landlord to win this award for a
second time because in 2004 Richard took the accolade at the
Plough in Old Colwyn. The Valentine has been missing from
CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide since 1999 but with Richie’s guidance
it is back where it belongs.
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Valentine is a small traditional pub with separate lounge and
bar areas and although the interior has had a makeover, the
overall character of the pub has remained the same. What
has changed is the quality and variety of the real ales.
The famous Plough beer festivals have now been transported to
the ‘Val’. At Easter there is a Welsh Ales festival and at the
summer bank holiday there is a Celtic Ales festival with beers
from Wales , Scotland , Cornwall and even the Isle of Man. It
was at the latter festival that the Most Improved Pub Award
was presented. Abercolwyn branch Chairman IanSaunders
commended Richard for restoring the pub to its former glory,
the pub which was once the home of the local CAMRA branch.
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Kinmel Arms, St. George – Mild Pub of the Year |
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 During
the month of May CAMRA celebrates the traditional beer style
of mild. Mild tends to be darker and maltier than other beer
styles and often slightly lower in alcohol. Each year the
Abercolwyn branch of CAMRA presents an award to the pub which
has shown the greatest dedication to mild during the year and
particularly during May. This years award went to Lynn Cunnah-Watson
and Tim Watson of the Kinmel Arms in St. George. During May
they featured no less than eight different milds which, for
the record, were Thwaites, Cottage Black Prince,Woodlands,
Spitting Feathers Dark Velvet, Phoenix Monkeytown, Coach House
Gunpowder, Great Orme Welsh Black and Moorhouses Black Cat.
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Queens Head, Glanwydden – Food Pub of the Year |
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Recently the Abercolwyn branch of CAMRA
announced its Food Pub of the Year 2008. The Queens Head in
Glanwydden was the recipient of this year’s award. The pub is
featured in the Good Beer Guide and is also in CAMRA’s Good
Pub Food guide and with a star no less. They won the accolade
because of the combination of good quality real ale and
excellent food. They pride them selves on using local produce
for their dishes. Even one of the beers on the bar comes from
the local Great Orme brewery; in fact the Fish and Chips in
Beer Batter uses this beer. After
the presentation, four of us decided to sample some of the
dishes. The starters tried were: deep fried brie with salad
and a peach chutney; avocado, smoked salmon and prawns with an
accompanying salad and crusty bread; and finally asparagus
risotto topped with a poached egg. All were of a generous size
and declared excellent by all. As we were dining on a Sunday
lunchtime there were roasts on offer. The main meals we had
were: roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and roast loin of pork
with crackling, both these meals came with roast potatoes and
a variety of fresh vegetables; Orme bitter battered fish with
homemade chips and crushed peas; pan seared queen scallops on
a pea puree accompanied by bread and butter. Everything was
delicious and could not be faulted, but by now we were all too
full to embark on the sweet menu which had hot and cold sweets
although one of our party managed to squeeze in a coffee with
homemade fudge.
Some of the other meals on offer include fish or chicken
curry, sea food vol-au-vent, pasta dishes and in the evening
different steaks or gammon, many of which we have tried over
time and always found to be of excellent quality and well
presented.
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The Toad, Rhos-on-Sea – Pub of the Season – Spring |
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Recently, the Abercolwyn branch of CAMRA
announced that the award for Pub of Season Spring 2008 has
gone to Peter Hammond of The Toad, Rhos-on-Sea,Colwyn
Bay.Peter has turned the pub around and guided it through a
refurbishment and the trauma of builing work going on around
him to put the Toad back where it blongs,in CAMRA`s Good Beer
Guide.The pub now has a great atmosphere with a good mix of
customers from locals to the food lover’s who come to sample
the pub’s excellent cuisine and the tourists who flock there
during holiday periods. Most importantly, as far as CAMRA is
concerned, the real ales on offer are in excellent condition.
Jennings Cumberland Ale (4% ABV) is always available and on
the evening of the award presentation there were two guest
beers: Marstons Dragon’s Tale (4.5%) and Wadworth The Bishop’s
Tipple (5%). Everyone present, CAMRA members and locals alike,
had a great evening and agreed that Peter deserved the
accolade for all of his hard work
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White Lion, Llanelian-yn-Rhos – Pub of the Season – Summer |
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Pub of the Season award for Summer 2008 has
gone to Simon & Nina Cole of the White Lion, Llanelian-yn-Rhos.
The pub has been in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for 17 consecutive
years, longer than any other in the County of Conwy. The
reason is the consistent quality of real ale that they sell.
Branch chairman Ian Saunders commended
 Simon
& Nina with running such a great pub saying that the quality
of the beer had actually improved in the last few months and
the variety of guest beers had increased. The guest beer on
the night of the presentation came from the new local brewery
in Llanrwst: Bragdy’r Nant. The beer is called Pen Dafad
(Sheep’s Head) and is a premium bitter of 4.2% ABV (Alcohol by
Volume). This complemented the two regular beers: Marstons
Bitter and Pedigree. Great food is also available in the White
Lion and Simon & Nina were thrilled to receive the accolade.
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Picture House, Colwyn Bay – Pub of the Season – Autumn |
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The Campaign for Real Ale has just launched
the Good Beer Guide 2009. The Guide contains details of the
best 4,500 pubs in Britain . Amongst them is the Picture House
which is the Wetherspoons pub in Colwyn and recently the
Abercolwyn branch of CAMRA held a Good Beer Guide launch
there. This was the first time that the pub had been featured
in the guide. CAMRA chairman Ian Saunders said that it had
been a great 12 months for the Picture House: they had held
several national and local beer festivals at the pub featuring
many local Welsh ales and the quality of the ale had been
second to none. For that reason, at the launch of the guide
CAMRA awarded licensee Jonathan Jarvis with the award of Pub
of the Season Autumn 2008 making it a double celebration at
the Wetherspoons.
Pictured left to right are Jon Lyons,
cellarman, Jonathan Jarvis, Manager and Abercolwyn CAMRA
chairman Ian Saunders
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