December Branch Meeting
Just a reminder that the December Branch Meeting will be held at 8.00 p.m. this Thursday 5 December at the Olde Man and Scythe, Churchgate, Bolton BL1 1HL. There will be a short business meeting followed by a social evening moving on to wherever the consensus takes us. This will be the last meeting of 2024 and we wil be considering the timetable for choosing our entries for the Good Beer Guide 2026 and how this then leads into the Pub of the Year competition. The full process for selecting the pubs to go into the Good Beer Guide is set out on the branch website here, but the starting point is an analysis of the beer scores submitted by members over the previous year. Those pubs which have scores higher than the branch average will make up the initial shortlist. This will then be reviewed by members at the January Branch Meeting with the final selection taking place at the February Meeting.
Annual General Meeting
The Branch AGM took place on 7 November and all the officers were re-elected for another year. The minutes of the meeting can be viewed on the Branch website here (you will need your CAMRA membership number to log in). Ralph Warrington, North West Regional Director gave a short briefing on national and regional issues. Reports were received on membership, social activites, cider, website statistics, and Bolton Beer and Cider Week. The Branch Pubs Officer gave a round up of movements on the Bolton pub and club scene. Copies of all these reports are included in the minutes.The Brewery Liaison Officers also informed the meeting about developments at Bolton’s various breweries.
Socials
Hot on the heels of Thursday’s Branch Meeting is our next social which will take place on Saturday 7 December. Meet at 1.00 p.m. at One for the Road in Bolton Market before heading out the the Kings Arms in Farnworth and returning to Bolton Town Centre later. Full details on the Branch website here.
Late Night Levy
The Council has been trying to introduce a Late Night Levy for a couple of years. The idea is that establishments which open between 3 and 6 a.m. should pay a levy which will contribute to the costs of policing. Despite objections from Bolton CAMRA on a number of points, including adding further costs to already struggling businesses and the amounts collected being minimal, the Council has voted to go ahead with the scheme which will take effect in February. This will affect licensed premises and takeaways in Bolton town centre. We will have to see what impact this has on the night time economy in the town.
Winter Beers
To go along with the darker nights we are beginning to see some festive brews appearing on the bars of our local pubs. These too are often darker and a little stronger to insulate you from the cold and miserable weather. I hope you are able to sample some of these seasonal treats in the run up to Christmas. The CAMRA website has lots of information on what beers are available in our pubs to help you track them down. This is easily accessible from the opening page here and allows you to score the beers too.
Cheers!
John Mitchell – Chair