Pub of the Year

You may have noticed that I have not disclosed the winner of the CAMRA Pub of the Year for the London region. That news is embargoed until mid September to coincide with the launch of The Good Beer Guide in order to gain maximum publicity for the Guide and the regional winning pubs. It is not necessarily an embargo that I personally agree with but I have had sufficient bollockings from CAMRA's leadership to observe it. You can probably discover the winner elsewhere on the web but I am pleased to say that, for once, I am in line with the CAMRA directors' preferred way of doing things.

Given that I am no longer a judge of the next phase of the competition I may even refrain from commenting on the pubs in the super regional competition for fear of being accused of prejudicing one pub against another (and another scolding) - I cannot promise though.

Something I can disclose is the short list for the SPBW London Pub of the Year :

Bree Louise, Euston
Bricklayers Arms, Putney
Calthorpe Arms, Clerkenwell
Crosse Keys, Bishopsgate
Duke of Hamilton, Hampstead
Old Fountain, Old Street
Old Monk Exchange, Victoria
Pembury Tavern, Hackney
Red Lion, Ealing
Royal Oak, Borough
Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
Willoughby Arms, Kingston

Judging will occur in September and October.

Dog and Bell

The SPBW have announced that their pub of the year for 2008 is the Dog and Bell in Deptford.

In a close vote, it just pipped the The Sultan, The Bricklayers, The Royal Oak, The Bree Louise and The Pembury.

When checking the website, I found another SPBW here.

The Society for the Protection of British Woodlands whose mission is the promotion of outdoor activities within British woodlands whilst protecting and preserving them from misuses and abuse.

The Chip Museum

Just thought I'd share a post script from the latest Pint in Hand, sent out to members of SPBW.

Although there are many beer related reasons to visit Bruges, there is now the added attraction of the Frietmuseum, the world's first museum dedicated to the humble chip.

Potatoes were apparently discovered in Peru around 15,000 BC and Belgian frites date from around 1700. The museum, set in one of Bruges oldest buildings, boasts beautiful photos of Peruvian tubers and an interesting collection of chip art (I kid you not) together with a marvellous display of retro chip fryers.

This has got to be worth seeking out on a future visit to Bruges just out of curiosity.