For the fourth year in a row, the Royal Oak in Wantage has been voted White Horse CAMRA's pub of the year. As readers are undoubtedly to aware, the Royal Oak is additionally both the reigning Oxfordshire and Southern-Region CAMRA pubs of the year, and, as announced above, was one of three runners up in the National Competition this year.

So popular have the beers from Grove micro-brewery Pitstop proved that owners Peter Fowler and Mike Bellinger are expanding. A new five-barrel plant has been ordered, and the current brewery, behind Bellinger's Garage, is being raised to accommodate the new brewing equipment. Also on the shopping list was a bottling plant. As local drinkers are aware, Pitstop makes a range of delicious, on average higher-alcohol beers including Pole Position, Penelope and the CAMRA award-winning Sump. Production is currently suspended while the brewery expands, although thirsty drinkers might still find offerings from the original plant in the Royal Oak in Wantage.
(Item from 16th April 2009)

For the second year in succession, the Royal Oak in Wantage has been voted Oxfordshire CAMRA's pub of the year by the county's CAMRA branches. There will be a presentation of the award on Wednesday 9 September at around 8 pm. The Royal Oak is now competing for the Southern-Region CAMRA pub of the year award with other champion pubs from Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
(Item updated 28th August 2009)

East Hendred Village Hall will be hosting a beer festival from the 11th and 12th September in aid of Snells Hall. Food, a bouncy castle (yuk!) and live music are promised. Beers include Best Mates Midsummer Madness, Purity Gold and Ubu, Sharp's Doom Bar, Thornbridge Jaipur, Loddon Ferryman's Gold, RCH East St. Cream and Hook Norton Bitter.
(Item updated 4th Sep 2009)

For the third year in a row, the Royal Oak in Wantage has been voted White Horse CAMRA's pub of the year. As readers will doubtless recall, the Royal Oak is additionally both the reigning Oxforshire and Southern-Region CAMRA pubs of the year. Landlord Paul Hexter and his staff will be presented with the Robert "Soggy" Sumner trophy at a Branch presentation at 8PM on Wednesday June 17th. All most welcome.
(Item from 31st May 2009)

The late-May bank holiday weekend plays host to the 12th Plough beer festival in West Hanney, featuring local ales and ciders. Expect live music and a hog roast on the Saturday night.
(Updated on 17th May 2009)

The White Hart at Fyfield will be holding one of its bi-annual mini beer festivals over the May Day bank-holiday weekend (Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th May). At least 14 cask beers will be on offer; there will be live music and a hog roast from 1pm onwards on the Monday.
Also holding their annual festival that weekend, the Cherry Tree in Steventon is promising more than thirty cask ales and four traditional ciders. There will be live music every night, and food, including a barbecue, at all sessions.
(Item from 23rd April 2009)

The Branch Social Secretary has a list of mouthwatering activities planned for Branch members. See the diary for more details.
(Item from 21st February 2009)

The doors of both the King and Queen, Longcot, and Kings' Arms, Wantage, are open again. The King and Queen is reportedly now selling Wells Bombadier and Wadworth 6X, and the kitchen will be open again soon. The Kings' Arms is apparently under new management.
(Item from 2nd February 2009)

The Barrington Arms in Shrivenham has reopened after a few months in mothballs. Big-screen sport is proving popular, as is the cheap Fullers London Pride during matches.
(Item from 2nd February 2009)

We are delighted to report that the Eight Bells at Eaton has just reopened as a free house, following nine months of uncertainty after its sale by former-owners Greene King. Apparently there are three cask ales on offer, and food is available. More news when we have visited this rural gem.
(Item from 5th January 2009)

We gather that the Kings Arms in Wantage has closed. This Greene King-owned pub has been advertising for a manager for some months, so presumably nobody has yet come forward.
(Item from 25th January 2009)

Just as all seemed to be going well in Longcot it appears that the King and Queen has closed again. The pub had only re-opened in August last year, in the capable hands of popular landlady Julie Ann Gibbin Gibbin and her partner. Unfortunately, towards the end of December Julie received an unexpected letter from owners Punch Tavern, in which they announced their intent to sell the pub. The final straw came over the Christmas period when the pub's boiler failed, and Punch were unwilling to pay for its repair. Having already invested heavily in the pub, Julie reluctantly decided that she had had enough. A final farewell took place last Saturday, and the pub is now closed. Over 150 locals have signed a petition urging Punch not to close the pub, but given Punch's announced intention to sell 500 "less profitable" pubs nationwide, the future for Longcot's only remaining hostelry, and for the village's drinkers, does not currently look good.
(Item from 12th January 2009)

White Horse Branch will be holding its Annual General Meeting at the Plough, West Hanney on Tuesday, January 20th at 7:30PM. All branch members are encouraged to attend and are eligible to vote; please bring your membership card! Only motions notified in advance will be permitted for discussion, so please send anything you wish to raise to the branch secretary before January 15th.
(Item from December 20th 2008)

The beer festival was, we hope you will agree, a success. Over four hundred and fifty thirsty drinkers consumed almost all of the beer, cider and perry, CAMRA signed up 29 new members (welcome all!) ... and we now have our lives back. Pitstop Sump was voted beer of the festival by those who attended; their Pole Position was runner up. We are now planning for next year's festival. Same time of the year, same venue. Watch this space.
(Item from December 20th 2008)

We are delighted to announce that the Branch will be organising a beer festival in Wantage on Friday and Saturday, the 21st and 22nd of November. This is not the first Wantage beer festival - readers with long memories may recall a charity event in the early 1980s - nor the first CAMRA event - the as-was-then Vale-of-White-Horse-Sub-Branch organised one in East Challow in the early 90s. But it is certainly the first in a long time. We are intending to provide 24 cask ales, local and from far away, light and dark, strong and meek, as well as ciders and perry. The Festival will take place in the Masonic Hall. More details on the festival web page.
(Item from November 2008)