The time has come again people. This Wednesday 1st Feb is judgement day! Well, in a beer brewing sense anyway. If you’re entering please arrive at Little Johnny Russells on Albert Road by 7pm at the latest to get your entries in and registered. We are starting the judging process at 7.30pm and no later.
But remember you don’t have to enter a brew to attend, we’d love to see as many of you as possible to support the event and after all you’ll be witnessing Portsmouth beer brewing history in the making. When all entries have been judged the brews are open for anyone to try (providing the brewer doesn’t mind), so there’s an incentive!
We hope to see a high standard of brews this year as we did last year and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a 2nd annual Strong Island brew winner to be featuring on the pumps at your local in the coming months. See you all on Wednesday!
Don’t Forget Your Plimsolls is a new style of exercise class. It brings everything people enjoyed about PE and playground games while still allowing them to get fit in a carefree and above all, fun way. Even those of us who hated PE still have fond memories of crazes such as British Bulldog, Stuck in the Mud and Dodgeball. Exercise never used to feel like exercise and this is exactly what DFYP is trying to recapture. Yes, you’ll burn calories as you take part in the activities, but without the pain of monotony and pressure you may have experienced in gyms previously. Founder Joel Ryder is a fully qualified fitness instructor and personal trainer so while the emphasis is on fun with fitness, you’ll also be in safe hands. It’s even a great way to socialise while doing something good for mind and body.
If more traditional classes are not for you, then this may be exactly what you’ve been searching for. It suits those who are returning to exercise as well as those who are just starting out. Each game has been carefully designed to allow you to judge how far you wish to push yourself. If your aim is to shed pounds, get a bit fitter or just have some silly laughs to chill out after work then give it a go. Just bring yourself, and of course, your plimsolls.
DFYP is at Eastney Community Centre 7-8pm every Tuesday.
£2.50 introductory offer if you mention ‘Strong Island’ (normal price £3.50).
This is an adult class so minimum age is 18 years.
Calling all home brewers! The judging evening is not too far away now and i’ve been receiving some correspondence from you with positive news, it should be a good evening. We even have a couple of postal entries from competitors who can’t make it on the night so competition should be strong this year we are hoping!
Here at Strong Island towers we are trying to get an idea of how many competitors will be entering on Weds 1st Feb so if you are planning to enter a brew please can you email me at ben@littlejohnnyrussells.com with the following:
1) Your name
2) Your category (Specified Kit/Unrestricted)
Once I have the names and numbers of entrants i’ll be posting up details of the judging evening including times etc. Good luck!
How’s the brews coming along? Just a little reminder about our 2nd Annual Strong Island Home Brew Competition for you all before you settle down to your excessive eating, drinking and all round Christmas fun! You can see the full post HERE
The judging evening will be held on Weds 1st February so if you haven’t started brewing yet then get cracking! Merry Christmas.
Through the Autumn months Stuart has been as busy as ever and has completed several shoots including press releases for the music industry amongst others. Stuarts private projects for portfolio building have been a lot of fun he says and sometimes very challenging. He has been trying to keep his work varied so not to get rooted in one genre but most of all to keep pushing himself on producing new ideas and concepts. Some of these were spur of the moment but others consisted of a much longer drawn out process of development. However, all have given satisfying results of which some have caught the eye and have lead him on to more shoots commercially.
If you wish to see more from these stories either check out Stuarts page on Facebook ‘Stuart Scott Photography’ to view them in hi-res or contact Stuart go to www.stuartscott.4ormat.com
Right Ladies and Gents here’s a nice little project for you to get your teeth stuck into over the winter months. The 2nd annual Strong Island Home Brew competition will see you have a bash at brewing your own beer to be entered into a competition which will be judged by a panel of experts with the winner potentially having their brew/recipe brewed by Irving & Co. Brewers and made for distribution around pubs in the Portsmouth area. This is all providing you have what it takes to be a brewing master of course! Who knows, we may even coax a beer brewing superstar out of the woodwork!
There are 2 categories to enter in this competition:-
1st – The Specified Home Brew Kit category. This is for all the beginners out there who have never attempted anything like this before but are still willing to have a bash at becoming Strong Island Home Brew champion. We’ve specified the Young’s Home Brew Kit available from Wilkinson’s as the kit to use for this category. To enter this all you have to do is pop down to Wilkinson’s or follow the link, purchase the specified kit and then start brewing. A receipt of your purchase will have to be provided as part of your entry form on the night.
2nd – The Unrestricted Brew category. Whether you already are a home brewer or you really want to go to town and build your own micro brewery this is the category for you. Designed to make no boundaries for the brewer, this category is designed to really let the skills be shown of your home brewing talent. Any kit and brewing process is allowed so go for your life.
Rules
The categories to which your final brew will be judged on are -
The judging panel will consist of Malcolm Irving from Irving & Co. Brewers in Portsmouth, Stuart Ainsworth who is Landlord of the Leopold Tavern which is Portsmouth & South East Hampshire CAMRA pub of the year and myself, Ben Mills proprietor of LJRs and The Belle Isle.
- Any brew is welcome to enter be it Ale, Bitter, Ginger Beer, Cider, Lager etc. (Note this only applies to the Unrestricted Brew category)
- There are no limits on team numbers so you can enter as a solo brewer or as a team
- Over 18′s only can enter the competition
- Final entries are to be presented to the judges in bottles. 3 bottles are to be submitted to give a fair representation of your batch.
- Your receipt of purchase MUST be presented with your entry form on the night (for all Specified Home Brew Kit entrants)
- A list of all ingredients and a brief description of the brewing process MUST be submitted with your entry form on the night (for entrants of BOTH categories)
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places as well as best in show. Remember we won’t just be looking at the brew but also the presentation, name and label design of each entry and don’t forget the golden carrot if the winning brew’s up to scratch you could well see your recipe brewed up by Irving & Co. Brewers and distributed to pubs in and around Portsmouth as happened last year with Strong Island Hopper.
The judging evening will be Wednesday 1st February at Little Johnny Russells, Albert Road, Southsea. Make sure your brew is ready for then along with all the requirements for entry.
Any questions or queries please email ben@littlejohnnyrussells.com
Paul will be posting details at the end of the week about how to do the initial sign up with an online form but until then you can get brewing from now. Get your friends or family involved, spread the word and good luck brewing!
For any web developers out there this could be an excellent opportunity for you. Steve got in touch with Strong Island with regards to his web agency Something Interesting looking to recruit a new developer.
Something Interesting are a website design and development agency based in the Old Treasury on Kings Road. Set up almost 10 years ago, they have worked on a range of projects for companies like Portsmouth Guildhall, The Belle Isle, The Co-operative financial services and Plane Finder.
As they are expanding and taking on more clients they are now looking for a full time developer to join the team.
You can find more about the job here > http://www.somethinginteresting.co.uk/blog/developer-wanted/
As someone who has grown up by the sea and spends many hours during the summer out on the Solent, this is an issue close to me as i’m sure it is many others in the Portsmouth & Southsea area who enjoy the Solent for leisure and recreation.
In December 2010 the UK Government announced modernisation consultation proposals for HM Coastguard. At that time the intention was to reduce the UK’s eighteen Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres to just two centres which would operate 24hrs per day. These centres (MOC’s) would be supported by only five sub centres that would only be operational throughout “daylight hours only”.
UK Coastguard HQ Centres are responsible for the co-ordination of Search and Rescue along the UK coastline, as well as providing shipping information and a number of other essential services along the UK coastline.
Announcing the cuts, Shipping Minister Mike Penning said “Our seas are becoming busier, with larger ships and increasing numbers of offshore renewable energy platforms making key areas of our seas more congested. There are also increasing numbers of people using our beaches, coastlines and seas for leisure activities.”
The proposals were overwhelmingly rejected by EVERY Coastguard station, campaigners and by the Transport Select Committee who conducted a full investigation and concluded that the modernisation proposals were “seriously flawed”.
If you care to sign this petition in favour of keeping our coastline safe then please visit www.petitiononline.com/SHMCGS
A brand new beer festival organised by Portsmouth’s only brewery, Irving and Company will be upon us this October. Beers, Ciders and Perries from all round the UK will be on offer as well as many local favourites. You’ll be able to enjoy live music, food and a great atmosphere all being hosted at the Groundlings Theatre in Portsea.
Friday 14th October 12-4pm is a preview session at £2 and 6-11pm is £8. Saturday 15th October sees the day session 12 – 4pm at £4 and 6-11pm session is £8. I wonder if this fest will be drunk dry just like the previous Portsmouth beer festivals?
Ticket sales are available at Irving brewery 02392 738507 or Groundlings Theatre, Curzon Howe Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3BS 02392 737370 and The Belle Isle, Fountain, Leopold Tavern, Rose In June and The Stags Head at Westbourne.
The beers will be coming from local brewers such as Irvings, Oakleaf and Bowman as well as further afield like Dark Star, Vale, All Gates, Great Oakley and Ramsgate to name but a few and the range of the Ciders will be from Whiteheads of Selbourne.
So don’t hesitate good people of Portsmouth, get your tickets and let’s have a knees up!
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