You may find some of the below links useful for getting you started in the garden this Spring.
Congratulations to the Guardians top pubs
• 23rd February 2010 •
We would like to say a big congratulations to the Nag’s head and Bartons arms who have been named as two of the countries best pubs in the Guardian newspaper. In a feature called ’10 of the best’ Guardian journalist Anne Tims selected the Nag’s head in Worcestershire and the Bartons Arms in Birmingham as two of Britain’s top 10 pubs. Anne said of the Nag’s Head ‘It is the beers that seduce – 16 of them on tap’ and when commenting on the Bartons Arms Anne said ‘ Saved from dereliction in 2002 it now offers the best range of bottled beers in the city, a menu of host and guest beers and a complement of Thai chefs’.
Hobsons have been supplying both pubs for some time now and each has their favourite brew. The Bartons Arms is a fan of Hobsons Mild while the Nag’s Head favours Hobsons Best. However other familiar Hobsons names can be found on the menu from time to time including Town Crier and Twisted Spire. Nick Davis head brewer at Hobsons said “We are delighted that these two fantastic pubs have been recognised on a national level for the excellent service, atmosphere and beer they provide and we wish them all the best for the future”.
Hearty farmers markets
• 17th February 2010 •Farmers markets are a great place to discover delicious local fresh food and drink. We have a stall at Ludlow Farmers Market on the second Thursday of every month and we love the atmosphere and buzz the market creates. We occasionally attend other markets so keep your eyes peeled for us. We have listed many of the local farmers markets below, if you attend any of the markets let us know what you thought.
Read the rest of this entry »
Historic ‘parlour pub’ saved by regulars
• 16th February 2010 •
Britain’s only grade 2-listed pub was run by the countries longest serving landlady Flossie Lane until her death at the age of 94 in June 2009. The Sun Inn is one of the last surviving ‘parlour pubs’ and it has attracted national interest over the years as a result of its historic value. There is no bar or serving hatch in the pub, beer was brought from stillage in the kitchen by Flossie herself and regulars enjoyed their drink with a chat in what was in affect Flossie’s sitting room. The pub is listed on CAMRA’s national inventory of historic pub interiors and it is considered by many to be the best example of an unspoiled UK pub.
The Sun Inn never pretended to offer its visitors any frills, its charm was always its simplicity and timelessness, something its regulars are keen to preserve. The pub was so loved by the locals who frequented it that following Flossie’s death a Save the Sun Inn campaign was launched and the pub continued to open each evening thanks to the dedicated volunteers. The campaign was backed by CAMRA and ourselves and when rumours began to circulate that the pub may be purchased for development Nick Davis, head brewer at Hobsons and Gary Seymour, Sun Inn regular and Leintwardine business man decided to buy the pub in a bid to secure its history and Flossie’s legacy. Read the rest of this entry »
Introducing Hobsons flagship pub the KA
• 16th February 2010 •
Set directly opposite St Mary’s Church (famous for its twisted spire) in the centre of Cleobury Mortimer – gateway to the Shropshire Hills the Kings Arms or KA as it is known is a welcoming 15th century inn. Part owned by Nick Davis, head brewer at Hobsons, the KA is run as a Hobsons pub and so stocks all of our cask and bottle beers. Fully refurbished only a couple of years ago the KA is a cozy and welcoming pub with an open fire, comfortable seating, great beers and delicious food.
When it comes to the KA’s food they work on a philosophy of ‘Fresh where possible, local if we can and good old fashioned home made’ so you can be sure that what you are served is not only delicious but grown or reared just down the road. The veg is from Fred’s Veg Shop, the sausages are from Hems the Butcher and the bread is from Ashley’s Bakery all located in Cleobury Mortimer. The quality of food which is served from 10am – 3pm daily has created a real following in and around the town and the pub is often packed out with people enjoying a relaxing lunch in the rustic bar.
If you want to experience what Hobsons is about then theres no better place to go than the KA. Our beer is served with care and skill to ensure a fantastic pint every time and our philosophies regarding sustainability are embraced 100%.
There’s often events on like live acoustic music and PINK, a yearly event which is a whole month of activities to raise money for breast cancer. 2009′s PINK event raised a fantastic £8700. You can find out more about the KA and PINK by visiting the KA website www.kingsarms-cleobury.co.uk. Alternatively keep popping back her for news and events.
Chuckle Nights hilarious launch
• 10th February 2010 •
Comming Friday 23rd April
TOM CRAINE MC
MATT GRANTHAM
GORDON SOUTHERN
TONY LAW
Click here to see this months flyer Chuckle Nights
Getting started in the garden
• 8th February 2010 •Martin’s patch
Part of loving our environment is embracing sustainability and this doesn’t just mean large scale technologies like our wind turbine, growing your own fruit and veg is also a fantastic way of being more sustainable. We love the satisfaction growing your own food brings and many of Henry’s team have their own veg patches. In fact we are so passionate about the delights of ‘growing your own’ that we are planning to develop a vegetable patch at the Sun Inn, our latest Hobsons pub. The Sun Inn patch will be run by members of the loacl community and not only used to grow food but also inform local school children about the produce we can grow in our own back gardens.
Whether you already have your own veg patch or you’re thinking of delving into the world of home grown fruit and veg for the first time, we would like to share some of our know how. So please take it away Martin.
Why bother?
A question I normally ask myself at least a dozen times throughout the year!
However, after spending an hour in the veg garden weeding, planting or watering, away from the madding crowd, radio on, listening to test match special, I normally answer the question for myself, especially when you taste your ‘first early’ potatoes, cooked with mint and smothered in butter, which have been dug just 30 minutes earlier. And whilst I can’t tell the difference between organic and non organic produce, I know for a fact, that almost everything I have produced in the garden has tasted sweeter, sharper, crunchier and more satisfying .
OK, your still with me, so I’m assuming you want to bother….So what next??
The basics
Guys….Good news…Size (of plot) doesn’t matter…What does matter is sunshine and water.
If at all possible, position your patch running lengthways east to west to take fullest advantage of the days sunshine, and get your water as close to your patch as possible. Believe me, you will soon appreciate distance once you’ve carried your 10th two gallon watering can from A to B.
Don’t panic if you havn’t a tap nearby, there are a plethora of waterbutts available from the garden centres or even better, recycle an old bath, steel drum or similar (I used to use plastic tubs from a jam factory) with which you can catch rain water or run a hose pipe to.
March… What to do
• 3rd February 2010 •
Must do jobs
- Complete winter digging of vegetable beds
- Prepare ground for sowing and planting. Fork over, remove weeds and apply a general purpose fetiliser, remove stones and rubbish and rake until you have a look of bread crumbs.
- Complete any fruit pruning and planting before the middle of the month.
- Protect early blossom from cold and wind with horticultural fleece.
- Chit your seed potatoes. I do mine in old egg boxes, standing them up and storing them in cold conditions away from light. The potatoe then grows ‘tubers’ which ultimately swell to become next season potato.
Sow indoor in the warmth
Greenhouse tomatoes, sweet peppers, mangetout, peas, lettuce, celeriac, celery, chillies, cauliflowers, brussel sprouts, french beans, broad beans and aubergines.
Sow outside in greenhouse or under glass
Turnips, outdoor tomatoes, spinach (SV), sorrel, globe artichokes, mixed salad leaves, rocket, radish, mangetout, peas, lambs lettuce, brocoli (SV) and calabrese.
Helpful tip
I plant my peas and mixed salad in lengths of plastic guttering (6ft long) which are filled with potting compost. They are brought on indoors and then planted out (I will show you how later) when they are strong enough to cope with the warmer climates.
Raise a bottle to Hobsons success
• 2nd February 2010 •
Until recently, if you weren’t lucky enough to live within our ‘cask in 50′ delivery area, rarely could you enjoy the fruits of Henry’s team but a growing awards cabinet is helping to spread the Hobsons message beyond the county borders – in a light weight bottle. More and more ‘purveyors of quality’ up and down the country who share a passion for great natural produce are choosing to sell our award winning bottled beers. In fact our bottle sales have increased by an impressive 46% since we launched our new labels back in the Spring of 2009.
With new stockists taking on our innovative bottles almost everyday it seems our delicious beer is reaching many more of you out there than was previously possible. Its impossible to say whether this is totally due to our fresh new look but with compliments flying in from retailers and consumers a like we think its pretty safe to assume the new packaging has been well received. Why don’t you let us know what you think of our new labels and of course our beer by leaving us a comment.
Henry’s Choice Guest Chef February – Richard Thompson, The White Lion Hotel
• 2nd February 2010 •
To launch our Henry’s Choice Guest Chef slot we have enlisted the culinary expertise and creativity of the White Lion Hotel and its head chef Richard Thomson.
The White Lion Hotel serves up delicious food produced using the best local ingredients. The hotels contemporary brasserie showcases its age through exposed timbers and open fire places. Dating back to 1510 the hotel has enjoyed a rich and colourful history and recently underwent an extensive refurbishment to return it to its former glory.
The White Lion is run by owners Jon and Chris Lear, and has gone from strength to strength in recent years attracting guests with it’s warm welcoming atmosphere, intriguing history and fantastic food. The kitchen is run by Richard Thompson who trained at the Swan Hotel in Tarporley Cheshire under Jon Lear, and moved with the couple to the White Lion in 1997. For over 10 years of Richard’s time as head chef of the hotel brasserie he has maintained two AA Rosette awards for culinary excellence and continually created exciting, fresh and delicious dishes.
Richard has chosen a Confit turkey thigh with Owd Lion and Pepperpot ale and barley vegetable broth, for his guest chef recipe. We would love to hear what you thought of this and all of our recipes so get cooking and enjoy the inspiration Henry’s Choice Chefs bring.
