Ely

CAMRA Elysian Winter Beer Festival, January 2016, The Maltings, Ely

iknoweno , , , , , , ,

The attractive riverside Maltings in Ely was the venue for the 7th Winter Beer festival. The 1868 building was sympathetically converted to a multi-purpose entertainment and conference centre in the 1980s and is a fine place for a warming winter pint.

Two sides of the crowded main hall were lined with rows of barrels, an agreeable sight. There were tables in side rooms and upstairs, where families were welcome. It was all very easy, buying a bingo type card in the foyer to pay for beer at the bars kept service swift and as always at these festivals the volunteers were knowledgeable and friendly.
There were plenty of heavier seasonal brews for the connoisseur but it was a long day so I stuck to the delights of Calvor’s ‘Lodestar’ (3.8%, “refreshing golden ale”) and local Moonshine Brewery ‘Heavenly Matter’ (4.1%, “golden with a citrus and tropical fruit aroma and taste”).

It is a popular festival, full to capacity during the afternoon, and well worth the train trip up from Cambridge (the station is just five minutes away… and micro-pub The Drayman’s Son is just up the hill….)

http://ely-camra.org.uk/

Drayman’s Son, Forehill, Ely

iknoweno , , , , ,

Formerly the Liberty Belle, Ely’s micropub has changed its name to Drayman’s Son and is now run by Jo and Andrew Pearson.
It was reviewed previously at https://cambridgepubreviews.com/2015/04/05/liberty-belle-fore-hill-ely/

I was very impressed on earlier visits. The good news is, it is even better now! They were happy to allow us in 15 minutes before the opening time, it is that sort of place. The décor is largely unchanged, there is now a map to add pins showing how far you have travelled. Beer is still dispensed straight from the barrel and now brought to the table, a nice touch.
The beer choice is displayed in detail, we sampled Elmers bitter which is a golden ale at 3.8% from Flying Monk Brewery in Malmesbury (there was a real flying monk there apparently..) and 4% White Elephant Golden Mild(!) from Elephant School Brewery Co in Brentwood. Both were excellent. They also dispense a range of locally produced gins.

They still serve proper pub food; pork pie, gala pie, cheeseboard, charcuterie…all at reasonable prices-what more could you want?
The number of micropubs in the UK continues to grow, Ely has some attractive pubs but this is the prime destination for the real ale enthusiast.

Liberty Belle, Forehill, Ely

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A  recent welcome development for pub goers is the appearance of the ‘micro-pub’. This is when a disused shop, post office or café is converted to a one room pub, lovingly cared for by a beer enthusiast or a group of locals.

The large and low bay windows and the two level interior of the Liberty Belle show its origins as a shop halfway up the steep (for Cambridgeshire!) hill into the city centre. It is a welcoming place, the inner décor is retro and comfortably cluttered: mainly a transport theme with railway destination posters and parts of engines, there are also old radios and a 1953 Bush TV showing documentaries of the time on the small curved screen.

You can sit in the window or retreat to comfy sofas at the back, watching as the landlord frequently disappears to fetch a tray of pints direct from the barrels in the back room. I chose the Norfolk Kiwi (3.8%) from Jo C’s of Fakenham, a delicious award-winning golden ale. The available food hits the spot, the artisan pork pies have a choice of pickled egg or onions on the side, with gourmet crisps and plenty of French-style mustard.

I suppose the new micro-pubs aim to create the idea of a pub in your living room, the Liberty Belle certainly does.

 

http://www.jocsnorfolkale.co.uk/

Now changed hands and name to The Drayman’s Son….another visit soon…
And now reviewed on this site..
https://cambridgepubreviews.com/2015/12/25/draymans-son-forehill-ely/

The Fountain, Silver Street, Ely

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Venturing out from Cambridge, from miles away the initial view towards Ely is of an island in the flat fens, dominated by the splendour of the cathedral. Of course it has been like this for centuries, but the image became recognised world wide when framed by two large metallic faces on the cover of the 1994 Pink Floyd album ‘The Division Bell’. So it was no surprise to see a large print of this picture on the wall of this unassuming freehouse,  just out of the centre of this small city.

Adnams beers dominate the bar, including some of their newer ‘craft’ offerings. My beer of choice was the pleasant 3.7% copper coloured Southwold bitter. The pub interior is a mix of old (wooden floor of varying contour) and newer (many framed prints of country scenes, group photos of the neighbouring Kings School, cathedral pictures and much more). You can sit on a choice of church chairs with hymnbook holding sections, 1930s dining chairs and even a dentist chair(!?). There is a newspaper on the bar, board games and relaxed locals with large docile dogs….

It is all very comfortable and calming and the multiple covers showing inclusion of the pub in past CAMRA good beer guides displayed in the window shows that its timeless qualities are well appreciated.

 

https://www.facebook.com/FountainElyPub