Pints of View Summer 2026 - the branch magazine of Mansfield & Ashfield CAMRA.
PUB OF TH
SEASON
The branch 2025 Pub of the Year adds the Winter 2025/26 Pub of Season award to its tally Let's roll off a few of the things the Firerock team have been up to this last quarter... [Deep Breath]
Back in November, they held their ‘Fear of the Dark' festival, showcasing stouts, porters, barley wines and imperial-strength beers. December saw their 7th birthday celebrations, which included a weekend of live music. Structural work in January involved the removal of the dividing wall between the two rooms, opening up the pub into one large space, and the addition of a staircase - the first step in eventually converting the top floor into an extended public space. They announced monthly Tap-Takeovers for 2026, with the first few featuring Warpigs (Denmark) in February, Whiplash Brewery of Dublin in March, and local brewery Bang the Elephant in April...
Phew!
Our presentation evening happened to coincide with the opening night of the Whiplash tap-takeover, where a range of styles from the brewery, from a 3.8% session IPA to an 8.0% export stout, were available to try, which is exactly what branch treasurer, Richard, decided to do, with a taster board comprising a third of each beer. As is often the case, the three hand pulls showcased local breweries, which on the evening were Black Iris The Big Chill and two of their own in Kill The Ghosts and Phantom Pigeon Sticker Bomber...
Phantom what? I hear you say... Well, the ale was named after they noticed an as-of-yet unknown customer had 'bombed' the pub with small pigeon stickers. Name aside, it was a stunning hop-forward hazy pale, which would go down well in the warmer months, so I'm hoping the brew isn't a one-off. Maybe if another flock of pigeons suddenly appear...
So congratulations to Danny, Amy, Neil and Gemma; very worthy winners of the Town Winter Pub of the Season.
14 | Pints of View Summer 2026