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2010 Brewery trips - off to a good start - the 5th-7th March saw another group of members off to learn more about brewing and to sample a few more beers. Marjorie Tait took the incriminating photos this time.  Dated 15/3/10.

The Market House - A new pub for Bridport - After a major re-development in this listed building, a new pub is opening this week on the site which was previously the Royal Oak. Palmers Brewery have worked for a long period with the planning authorities to ensure that all the changes made sit properly within the original buildings. A light and airy space welcomes the customer throughout, there is a well laid out bar area deep within opening out to a patio at the rear. At the front of the premises there is a modern dining room to one side with a "coffee table" style lounge area at the other.  Dated 8/3/10.

Skittles match a draw! - The West Dorset and East Dorset branches of the Campaign for Real Ale met for a skittles match at the Colliton Club in Dorchester, several times winner of the CAMRA Wessex regional Club of the Year award. Around 40 members from both branches used both skittle alleys, but the result was a draw. The event was organised by West Dorset Social Secretary Richard Gabe, in liaison with East Dorset’s social team, led by Trevor Thwaites. Read more... Dated 20/1/10.

Octoberfest most successful yet!! - Nearly 1000 people visited the festival. Here is a link to a comprehensive write-upfrom yesterday's Dorset Echo . Dated 6/10/09.

Branch "Weekend Away" - Last weekend's trip to the Black Country breweries (and some pubs!) reported by Simon Palmer. Dated 11/3/09.

Blue Raddle wins Branch Pub of the Year 2009 ! The winner of the local branch competition for CAMRA pub of the year was announced at Dorchester Beerex, and a certificate was awarded to the landlord, Richard Townsend during the festival. Dated 10/2/09.

Beerex Results! Palmers Tally Ho! won the publics approval as Beer Of Festival. Despite the weather real ale enthusiasts turned out in large numbers to celebrate Dorchesters 21st Beerex. Full results can be found here. Dated 8/2/09.

We're running the Exeter Winter Ales festival trip again! Saturday 10th January is the date for your diary. The coach will go from Portland via Weymouth and Dorchester so phone Rich Gabe on 07771 903868 to book your place. Dated 25/11/08

A chance to visit Piddle Brewery 3rd December! [TRIP NOW FULL]. Committee members have pulled out the stops to arrange another trip before the festive season to this new local brewery. Size of premises means numbers are limited to 18 persons. The bus will go from Portland via Weymouth and Dorchester and subsidised price will be £5. Even if you plan to travel independently Phone Rich Gabe on 07771 903868 to book your place. Get your name down early! Dated 5/11/08

Introducing NBSS - CAMRAs National Beer Scoring System. Give a score each time you have a drink - let us know how pubs are doing. This national system set up by CAMRA has been available for a couple of years now, but few people from this area use it. Click the link above or in the Main Menu to use the system - it is easy to use - you need your membership number and the same password as for the HQ members access. Dated 30/10/08.

Next brewery trip coming upl! Blindman's Brewery, Leighton Somerset on 15th November. Contact Rich Gabe on 07771 903868 to book your seat. Dated 11/10/08.

Danish Dynamite wins Beer of Festival! Danish Master Brewer Stig Andersen's beer chosen as Beer of Festival. Full results here. Dated 4/10/08.

Regional Success for Colliton Club! Dorchester club picks up Wessex award for 2nd Year in a row. The Colliton Club in Dorchester has won this award for the second year in a row. The award will be present ed to the club Steward, Neil Gatehouse on Wednesday as part of the local CAMRA Branch AGM. Click for more detail. Dated 7/9/08.

Two more events 13/14 Sept! An evening BBQ at Tom Browns and Beerfest at the Gaggle of Geese. These events will give you a lot of choice for things to do this month. Saturday 13^th evening will be a barbeque for members and friends at Tom Browns in Dorchester. If you plan to go, please give Jill Diggens a call (01305 862255) so she can estimate numbers. The other event is an all-day beer and cider festival on Sunday 14^th alongside the traditional Goose and Poutry auction at the Gaggle of Geese, Buckland Newton. The pub has recently been aquired by Mark & Emily Hammick who have made such a success of the European at the other end of the Piddle valley. Dated 3/9/08.

Try a Safari Lunch! A joint lunch event with Somerset CAMRA on September 27. This event will travel to three pubs on and around the Dorset /Somerset border with one course at each pub. A coach is planned from Portland, via Weymouth and Dorchester. Click here to see more details or ring Jill Diggens on 01305 862255 to book your place. Dated 27/8/08.

William Henry opens!! Former Hog's Head refurbished and re-opened as a second Wetherspoons. The rapid refurbishment of the former Hogs Head has taken place and the pub re-opened early in August. This is great news for the town and for local drinkers as it preserves another of Weymouths real ale pubs and will provide Wetherspoons quality and prices at both ends of the town centre. Dated 11/8/08.

Wise Man Re-opens!! Over 2 years since a fire destroyed the pub, the Wise Man re-opened last night with a special evening for residents of West Stafford and the surrounding villages. Over 200 people turned out to welcome the return of the pub which has always been a key integral part of the village. The pub is owned by Punch Taverns and the licencees from the Poet Laureate in Poundbury (Dorchester) have also taken on this lease. Real ales on offer for the opening night were Butcombe Bitter, Wadworth 6X and Hop Back Summer Lightning. Rich Bates, a West Stafford resident and CAMRA member summed it up as being "like the return of a long lost friend". Click to see pictures over the two years. Dated 21/5/08

Three Festivals this weekend!! Venues from North to South!. Click to see festivals list! Dated 20/5/08.

Tom Brown's Mini-Beerfest this Friday. 19th May - Beer , Music and Pies at Tom Brown's.The pub's service and ale quality is back up there with the best!   DBC follow up their St Georges Day event with another one. Dated 13/5/08.

St Georges Beerfest: A visit to the pub next door. Simon Palmer's photo report on the St Georges beer festival on Portland. Dated 20/4/08.

Social Meeting on May 14th: Royal Portland Arms, Fortuneswell. Portland 8pm. All are welcome to this evening in the pub sampling ales and ciders. Dated 13/4/08.

"A Bristol Bimble": An "ales by rail" trip report. Simon Palmer's photo report about a recent trip to Bristol by his "beer club". Dated 5/4/08.

Tom Brown's update : DBC now running the operation. A recent press release from DBC gives all the details. Dated 2/4/08.

4/02/08. Real Ale success!! The Rock, Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth is celebrating six months of success as a Real Ale pub. A major renovation undertaken during early 2007 brought this pub straight into the 21st century. Since then it has always had three real ales on tap and provides a bright modern experience for the drinker as well as a good menu with food available most of the time. It's great to see a combination of all the things a pub-goer wants coming together to bring a pub "back from the dead"!!

13/01/08. Exeter Winter Ales festival trip - Saturday 12th Jan. Click here to see some photos taken by Simon Palmer during the festival visit.

23/11/07. A chance to try a unique beer style - Friday 30th Nov. I've been told that the Queens Arms in Corton Denham will be holding an evening for the launch of a beer brewed by Justin from Moor Beer Co. in Ashcott. It is styled a "triple IPA" and this is believed to be the first time a brewer in the UK has attempted anything of this style and gravity. Corton Denham is not not strictly in Dorset although the postcode is, it's pretty much on the border. So for those living to te west of our area or those beer tickers this might be worth a visit!!

26/10/07. Beerfest next week at Royal Oak, Dorchester. Wetherspoons say they expect to have 35 beers during the festival which runs from 1st November until the 18th November. They anticipate having a choice of 20 or so available most of this period.

25/10/07. Hidden Brewery acquires Kings Arms, Thornford.  Andrew Hesketh, BLO for the Hidden Brewery reports that the brewery has acquired its third pub, The Kings Arms at Thornford, near Yeovil and will be re-opening it on Saturday 3rd November following refurbishment. Gay and Michael invite all to come and sample their fine ales. For those wishing to travel by train Thornford is on the Bristol Weymouth line and has a station close to the pub. Those using the Exeter Waterloo line would need to alight at Yeovil Junction and get the Weymouth train from Yeovil Pen Mill.

13/10/07. Regular meetings change to Wednesdays. The recent questionnaire showed more people interested in meetings on Wednesdays - so from now until the end of the year, we're moving the published meetings from Tuesdays to Wednesdays. See the updated Diary.

12/9/07. Presentation of "Club of the Year" award to Colliton Club on 27th Sept. John Buckley, the Wessex Regional Director of CAMRA will be presenting the Regional Club of the Year Award to Neil Gatehouse the club steward on Thursday 27th September at 7.30 pm. All CAMRA members are welcome to attend. (See Michel's report below for more details).

10/9/07. WEYMOUTH’s SUCCESSFUL OCTOBER BEER FESTIVAL AT BREWER’S QUAY AGAIN. Brewer’s Quay and the West Dorset branch of the Campaign for Real Ale [CAMRA] are again coming together to organise Octoberfest on the first weekend in October.

28/8/07. A "mini beer festival" this coming weekend at Thorncombe. Thorncombe Sports & Social Club are holding a mini beer festival this coming weekend. Everybody will be more than welcome! We are situated in the farthest West of Dorset - with plenty of space for camping (hot showers, toilets etc). Live music on Friday night. See www.thorncombe-club.co.uk for how to get there.
Beers will be: St Austell's: Black Prince and Tribute; Carlsberg: Burton Ale; Exmoor: Exmoor Gold; O’Hanlon’s; Yellowhammer and Royal Oak: Fuller's London Pride.

19/8/07. Colliton Club wins Wessex "Club of the Year". Michel tells us the results of the regional competition.

12/8/07. Great British Beer Festival Trip. Simons recollections of a great day out ...

10/8/07. AGM Venue - Palmers Brewery, Bridport - 11th September 8.00pm. Refreshment and Brewery tour after. Transport available - contact Tony to book seat - 01305 78990

12/6/07. GBG Deletion - Queens Hotel, Weymouth. Until recently this pub sold a selection of well kept DBC beers and was featured in the 2007 Good Beer Guide. Unfortunately the licensee reponsible for this policy has moved on and the new owners of the franchise have different business objectives. So much so that real ale in the present Queens Hotel is only occasionally available and then from a national or super-regional brewer. West Dorset Branch of CAMRA have therefore no choice but to seek to delete this pub from the 2007 GBG.

6/5/07. A visit to Blandford Beer Festival Simon gives another report and took these photos of a visit to this weekend's Blandford Beer Festival.

14/4/07. Maltings Festival Trip Simon Palmer took these photos of the trip to Newton Abbot Maltings festival. We had 44 members on the coach and several others travelled independently making this one of our largest visits!

2/4/07. Brewery Trip Report. Vanessa Hartigan and Simon Clark report on the recent three-day trip to Ross-on Wye.

1/4/07.

Wise Man at West Stafford - rebuild well under way. A major fire ripped through this lovely pub 11 months ago. See out previous items here and here. We are pleased to see that the rebuilding is well underway and demonstrates a very sympathetic reconstruction - see pictures here. Hopefully the pub will re-open in the summer!!

10/3/07. Black Bear in Wool to re-open. After being closed for refurbishment, the Black bear in Wool is due to re-open on Monday 12th March. A new management team is in place as well. The pub is a part of the Hall and Woodhouse estate - so expect Badger beers to feature!

8/3/07. New Cider Festival. The Royal Portland Arms, Fortuneswell on Portland is holding a Cider Festival over the Easter w/e. There will also be 2-3 Real Ales available.

1/3/07. Beerex "Beer of Festival" Results. The winning beers are listed here.

4/2/07.

Blue Raddle wins Branch Pub of the Year! The winner of the local branch competition for CAMRA pub of the year was announced at Dorchester Beerex, and a certificate was awarded to the landlord, Richard Townsend during the festival.

1/1/07. Beerex Tickets on Sale Now. Dorchester Beerex 2007 tickets available now - be sure to get yours! Check out the draft Beer List here.

14/11/06. Awards to be presented on December 4th. Two presentations will be made at the Digby Tap, Sherborne on Monday December 4th. These are for the Digby Tap itself (Wessex Regional Pub of the Year) and Yeovil Brewery (Beer of the Festival - Weymouth Octoberfest). Make sure you can get there!

1/11/06. Sailor's Return back to full service! The damage caused by the recent fire at the Sailor's Return has now been repaired. The pub is now fully open again!

9/10/06. Weymouth Octoberfest goes from strength to strength! The Octoberfest has had another record year, with seven more beers available than last year. Well over three quarters of the beers were still available for the early part of the last session and a great atmosphere was enjoyed by all. Click here to see which beers won the Beer of the Festival. Read more from the Dorset Echo.

29/09/06. New Inn at Shipton Gorge reopens after massive effort by locals! The New Inn at Shipton Gorge has been formally re-opened today. After a series of short speeches acknowledging the hard work and support of organisations including Pub is The Hub, Palmer's of Bridport and DEFRA, local MP Oliver Letwin presented a plaque to celebrate the reopening. Read more

15/09/06. Digby Tap wins Wessex Region Pub of The Year award! The Digby Tap in Sherborne has been chosen as the pub which best represents CAMRA’s ideal pub in Wessex this year. It is now one of 16 pubs being put forward for the National Pub of The Year award. The Wessex Region covers Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and South Wiltshire.

13/09/06. Good Beer Guide 2007 available! This year the branch has copies before they are available for sale on the HQ web site. Members can get them at a reduced price fron any Branch Meeting.

31/08/06. Octoberfest beer list! Early draft of the beer list for this year, published to whet your appetite... NB beers may change due to availability. Reserve Tickets on-line.

01/08/06. AGM venue announced! This year our AGM (Sept 12th) will be held in the Queen's Hotel, Weymouth. The pub is near the station - after you come down the station steps, turn right and the Queen's is across the road in front of you.

26/07/06. Beer Tasting event on Saturday 12 August 2006. O'Hanlons has invited CAMRA to come along to a tasting session at Majestic Wines in Dorchester at 12.30pm on Saturday 12 August 2006. Just turn up to sample these excellent ales - there is also a wide range of other bottled ales on sale.

24/07/06. Another Pub fire - Sailor's Return this time

22/07/06. Pub Guide reprinted! Our local pub guide had sold out, but we've just had a reprint so it's now available again.

27/06/06. Branch social postponed meeting planned for Benville locality is rescheduled to 25th July

13/06/06. Branch visits Sherborne an evening in various pubs in this north Dorset town..Read more

13/05/06. CAMRA Regional Meeting at Palmers Bridport seeks Fuller's agreement re Gales branding.
At the Meeting, Fullers Head Brewer, John Keeling, acknowledged that branding for beers now brewed at Chiswick should not contain misleading information. It is now expected that pumpclips etc. will be changed to reflect this agreement.

01/05/06. Wise Man at West Stafford destroyed by fire.