June Bradbury, Branch Secretary for Wakefield CAMRA and Festival Organizer for the 2008 Wakefield Beer festival, checks the temperature of a special festival brew which she is making under the guidance of the team at Clark's Brewery.
... and yes the wort is coming nicely up to temperature
just about
... and that rich dark colour says that it's going to be a porter
June's husband Albert draws off a small quantity of wort to which spices will be added.
It's looking good!
This is how the general public usually notice H B Clark & Co.
The big tower brewery building behind Henry Boons pub (formrly the Green Dragon) housed Clark's Brewery after World War 1, although the modern day brewhouse is all on ground level and doesn't need to rely on gravity.
Behind the brewery is H M Prison, Wakefield.
Henry Boon Clark looks out from a gable end.
The hop variety used in the festival brew is Progress, and the bulk of the malt is Maris Otter with relatively small amounts of darker malts for colour and flavour plus torrefied wheat for head retention.
It's nearly up to the boil.
June adds the Progress hops.
The hops will provide the thirstquenching bitterness and inviting aroma as well as acting as a preservative.
... giving them a good stir with the hi-tech agitator
taking a little of the hopped wort to which some more spices will be added
Assistant Brewer Jon Chapman is considering how much more spice such a rich beer will need.
Meanwhile it's a photo call to celebrate the brewing of the special festival beer, with a fortnight to go until Wakefield Beer Festival 2008. The spirit of Henry looks down on the whole thing. Left to right: Paul Senior (Head Brewer), Jo Gibson (Brewer's Assistant), June Bradbury (Festival Organizer), Albert Bradbury (Festival Beer Manager).
Paul Senior, Jo Gibson, June Bradbury and Albert Bradbury outside the modern day brewhouse of H B Clark & Co.
Final meeting with the management at Light Waves Leisure Centre. Note how seriously they take the job!
Jo Gibson is the newest member of the brewing team at Clark's.
As well as brewing the festival special on what they call the "mini kit", June gets roped in to add some hops to one of the full-sze brews.
That's a lot more of everything - Clark's beers find their way all over the country on a regular basis.
CO - it's the copper, and that chimney can be seen poking through the roof in some of the exterior photoshoot pictures.
Head Brewer Paul and Assistant Brewer Jon appear to be doing something technical.
Look at the time. Boiling's over now and Albert just adds a little more of the secret blend of spices before it cools and yeast is added to start the fermentation of what's going to be a spiced porter expected to have an abv of 4.3 to 4.4%. The hardest bit is going to be thinking of a memorable name for the brew.
Left to right: from Wakefield CAMRA, Mark Goodair (Festival Treasurer), Albert Bradbury (Beer Manager), June Bradbury (Festival Organizer), Maureen Waller (Festival Food), Steve Wood (Centre Manager), and Lee Vernon (Acting Centre Manager)
Festival Organizer June Bradbury whizzes around with t-shirts for staff.
Beer Manager Albert Bradbury is pleased that things are going so well.
Dave "Wurzel" Martin - bar manager
Dave Hoult - bar manager and transport assistant
festival volunteers Vanessa and Alan Shaw
This guy is Richard Allsop, in charge of security and stewarding, known to one and all as MG, which alludes to a make of rubber glove.
Paul Senior, Head Brewer at Clarks Brewery, gives technical assistance and is a member of the bar staff team.
Simon Chappell, the tall dark haired one, enjoys making waves.
Derek and Maureen Waller on the food stall
Colin Williams, pub food reviewer for our branch magazine, and Villages Co-ordinator on the Committee, takes a turn on the tombola.
This chap told me who he was but I've forgotten. Please, please will somebody use the "Add a comment" box below?
a group of serious beer hunters
Mayor of Wakefield Jacqui Williams, FestivalOrganizer June Bradbury and Mayoral Consort Darren Byford
The Mayor of Wakefield Councillor Jacqui Williams tests a festival beer.
Dave Hughes (left) with one of his colleagues from Acorn Brewery
Mayor of Wakefield Councillor Jacqui Williams declares the festival well and truly open!
You don't have to be paunchy and bearded to enjoy a beer festival!
Mick Exley rallies the cider drinkers.
Ronnie Crooks carefully pulls a half of Yorkshire Pale from Saltaire Brewery of Shipley.
This is Julie Robinson modelling her t-shirt kindly supplied by co-sponsor Clarks Brewery.
Festival Organizer June Bradbury welcomes Acorn's Dave Hughes and his colleague.
Geoff Williams takes a turn on the membership stand.
Huddersfield Branch are clearly out for a good time.
These hi-viz jackets must be radio-active.
Beer writer Barrie Pepper with Steve Johnson from Leeds Branch
Keith Simpson from Brown Cow Brewery
Colin and Rowena Williams and Peter O'Toole (El Presidente at the Red Shed)'s partner Pat, on the tombola stall.
Helen Palfreyman on the membership stand
.....and no local festival would be complete without Brian Cavell, officially from Leeds Branch.
Ben Dunning from Twickenham Branch
George Denton
Bob Whitehead (left) and Dave Jolly (right) - the guy on his mobile in the middle is invited to add his name.
Few local members have taken an active part in so many Wakefield Beer Festivals as Bob Whitehead.
Dave Litten from Hull Branch is a bit of a cider expert, and on the right is Richard Norris who has been manning our cider stand almost since he was legal drinking age.
Les Thompson is from the Boot & Shoe pub at Ackworth, probably the leading real ale music pub in the district. He's chatting with Malcolm Bastow of Five Towns Brewery. Could the outcome be a new beer named "Ageing Rocker"?
behind the scenes with bar manager John Groves
bar manager Jon Chapman, assistant brewer at Clarks Brewery
Nobody can beat Rosemary Arthur for enthusiasm.
This is what you do when one beer sells out and you've got another one from the same brewery.
Andy and Julie Dawson explain their sell-out of bottled beers to John Dent (is he from Sellafield?) This year bottled beers were available on beer tickets rather than for cash, and it seems to have increased the number of takers.
Olives and Things from Cheriton, Alresford, Hampshire - always a popular attraction at Wakefield Beer Festival Tel: 01962 793311
Derek and Maureen again
Once beers have gone off, work starts on dismantlig the cooling.
Assistant Bar Manager Dave Martin with Elland Ricochet
Dave Martin and Rosemary Arthur
A busy scene at the middle bar - George Denton and Brian Cavell serving, and is that Paul Travis who has slipped round from his Beer Inn Print stall for a re-fill?
behind the scenes on the middle bar as some of the cooling coils are disconnected
animated punters - this group have travelled from the Home Counties
Ben Dunning from a West London CAMRA branch who did an afternoon on one of our bars
beer tourists - Wakefield Beer Festival provides an autumn boost for local hotels
Note the fleeces and pipe lagging which ensure that however warm the building gets, the cooling coils can do their job of ensuring that the last ½ pint is as fresh tasting as the first. The fleeces have to be laundered after each use - an expense for our festival in addition to the considerable transport cost of collection and return of the equipment to CAMRA HQ at St Albans.
Which pipe is which?
draining lines without flooding the floor
New for 2008, a family room on the upper floor was available on the Saturday afternoon.
festival in full swing
Beer tourists from the Metropolis collect their ½ pint beer tokens.
Fernandes Brewer Steve Hutchinson with his wife and a guy who just has to be his brother
Acorn Asistant Brewer Steve Bunting (left) and colleague. Steve Bunting used to be CAMRA's Brewery Liaison Officer but did a "Gissa job - I can do that" (Yosser Hughes' famous line from Boys From the Black Stuff)
Festival Staffing Officer Pat Wallis and steward Mick Exley (the radio-active one) survey the festival hall from a centre-floor vantage point.
on beer tickets the tireless Richard Horrocks , and on entry tickets Sandra Naylor and David Arthur
Keith Higgs from the products stall on a fag break
Dave James, proprietor of East Coast Brewery at Filey
(centre) Ossett's Head Brewer Paul Spencer with Fernandes Brewery Tap's landlady Liz Crosby (right) and partner (left)
Osserr Head Brewer Paul Senior with Liz Crosby, landlady of Fernandes Brewery Tap & Bierkeller, one of Ossett's pubs.
Two brewers from the Ossett stable - left, Steve Hutchinson from Fernandes and overall Head Brewer at Ossett, Paul Spencer.
Vanessa Shaw (left) and Sandra Naylor (right) dole ot the festival tankards.
A view from the balcony - it's interesting to note that many festival staff are on different activities from those shown in earlier shots.
Are you in this photo? Use the magnification tool to look more closely.
In the evening of the Saturday the upstairs room became an extra seating area for punters in general, and a handy place to munch fish & chips if you'd slipped out to the chippie on York Street. Be warned: fish & chips, like lipstick can murder the head on your beer!
photo by David Owen
By ten o'clock Saturday night there was not much beer left on the bars.
photo of middle bar by David Owen
photo of the Beer Inn Print stall taken by David Owen
photo by David Owen of Rosemary Arthur on the Cider & Perry Bar
photo by David Owen of Helen Palfreyman on Membership and Festival Organizer June Bradbury on CAMRA Products
photo by David Owen of the stall where you could get the famous pork pie sandwiches
photo by David Owen, showing the two bars kindly loaned to us by Festival Co-sponsors Clarks Brewery
photo of pork pie and sandwich stall by David Owen, with novelty products on the left being sold in aid of Children In Need
photo by David Owen - Keith Higgs' hi-viz jacket looking radio-active
photo by David Owen of the tombola team, from the left, Pat Wallis, Rowena Williams, Pat Smethurst and Vanessa Shaw
