CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group shares news and updates about pubs with historically significant interiors across the country.
https://camra.org.uk/heritage-pubs/bulletins/pub-heritage-bulletin-267-may-2025
Category: CAMRA
Lincoln Beer Festival video
Thanks to Southside
PUBlic Affairs round up – April 2025
It’s that time again for the Campaigns and Communications team to bring you the latest updates on its campaigning efforts across Westminster, devolved parliaments and local government in this regular PUBlic Affairs round up series. Here’s their latest update.
https://wb.camra.org.uk/2025/04/10/public-affairs-round-up-april
New Venue for Lincoln Beer Festival
Lincoln Beer Festival is moving to a new venue in 2025. Over the years, the event has been held in a number of locations across the city but, recently, it has been a fixture at The Drill. However, the organising committee from the Lincoln Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has decided that the 43rd Lincoln Beer Festival will be held in Southside.
Formerly St Katherine’s Church, Southside is located by the junction of High Street, South Park and Newark Road. The building is owned by Acoustic Nations Live CIC, a not-for-profit organisation which produces music, events, films and videos. It also promotes numerous live events and community activities. Southside aims to showcase the heritage of its site, as well as celebrate all that is good about living in the south of the city.
Explaining the decision to move, Festival Organiser Mark Richards said, “We’ve had many great times at The Drill and the staff there are so helpful and accommodating. Unfortunately, since COVID, the footfall in the city centre, particularly in the evenings, has reduced significantly. As a result, our attendance has fallen away. We’ve decided that, if people aren’t coming into the city centre, we’ll take the Festival to the people. And where better to do it than Southside, a wonderfully atmospheric, events venue with a heritage home? We’re really excited about this move.”
Emily Nichol, Operations Director at Southside, said, “It is important to our small, but mighty, team of event professionals that Southside provides an eclectic programme of events for the City. We are honoured to be Lincoln Beer Festival’s new home for 2025 and can’t wait to work with Mark and the team on one of the City’s key events of the year.”
Lincoln Beer Festival will take place at Southside on Thursday 22nd, Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th May 2025.
Big Win for the Tiny Tavern
The Lincoln Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale has chosen Lincoln’s Tiny Tavern as their overall Pub of the Year for 2024. The micropub is located on the Lower High Street in what was originally two of the 17th century cottages in the Grade II listed St Andrew’s Row.
Emma Chapman and her daughter, Steph, opened the Tiny Tavern in March 2020, just one week before the first COVID lockdown. However, since re-opening, they have built a strong following and a reputation for serving some of the best real ale in the city. This is hardly surprising, as Emma ran the Jolly Brewer on Broadgate from 2004 until 2013, while Steph worked there from 2004 until 2018.
The cosy lounge at the front of one of the cottages that comprise the Tiny Tavern has a window seat and fireplace. Towards the rear is a bar area with a dartboard. The other, linked cottage has the cellar room, plus an extra room which is available for community activities. There is a large garden to the rear. On the bar, the six handpumps feature beers from microbreweries near and far. They also serve traditional cider and perry.
Lincoln CAMRA chairman, Aaron Joyce, said, “It’s a tough job for our judges picking a top pub out of such a great set of contenders. Emma and Steph have shown how hard work and enthusiasm through trying times such as a world-wide pandemic pays off. They have taken a vacant building and turned it into the great micropub we see today, and this award shows how much that work is appreciated, not just by our members but by all that cross the threshold. So ‘Cheers!’ to the Tiny Tavern team, and well done to all the finalists.”
The Lincoln CAMRA Branch area covers a large part of the county which includes Market Rasen, Woodhall Spa and Leadenham, as well as Lincoln itself. It contains over 200 pubs. The Pub of the Year competition was divided into two categories, with CAMRA members voting for their favourite city pub and their favourite from the rest of the Branch area. Four judges then visited the top three city and top three country pubs to assess the quality of the beer, the atmosphere, the service and community focus.
The runner-up in the overall Pub of the Year competition is Lincoln’s Joiners Arms. The Dambusters Inn at Scampton and the Three Horseshoes, Waddington are joint winners of the Country Pub of the Year title. The other pubs in the final were Lincoln’s Strugglers Inn and the Ripon Arms at Nocton.
The Tiny Tavern now goes forward to the Lincolnshire round of the competition, where it will be up against the winners from the Gainsborough, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Louth, Grantham, Fenland and Peterborough CAMRA Branches.
Business Rates help to protect pubs welcome – but duty freeze ‘missed opportunity’: CAMRA
Chancellor should have cut tax specifically on pints in pubs to boost pub-going says consumer group
Commenting on what today’s Autumn Statement means for pub-goers, pubs and breweries CAMRA Chairman Nik Antona said:
“Extending the 75% discount on business rates bills for pubs in England for another year beyond next April is very much welcome – and much needed for pubs facing rising prices and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
“The Chancellor admitted that temporary measures like this couldn’t go on forever, so it is vital that the Government urgently reforms the grossly unfair business rates system which penalises pubs and puts their future at risk.
“CAMRA is calling on the Scottish and Welsh Governments to commit, now, to offering similar help for pubs with the burden of business rates. We’d also like to see the UK Government find a way to help with business rates for the beer and pub sector in Northern Ireland if there continues to be no Executive ministers in post to do so.
“Freezing all alcohol duty until August 2024 is certainly to be welcomed. However, this is a missed opportunity to give targeted help to protect the nation’s pubs, social clubs and taprooms by cutting tax on draught beer and cider served in pubs instead of an across-the-board freeze in all alcohol duty.
“Reducing the tax burden specifically on pints in pubs must be extended in the future to keep pub-going affordable and to help keep pubs open and at the heart of both community life and local economies by giving them a fighting chance of competing against cheap supermarket alcohol.”