Thursday 30th December saw the return of Cornwall CAMRA’S annual Twixmas event. The meeting point this year was the Packet Station, the Wetherspoon pub in Falmouth. Here, Thornbridge ‘Jaipur’ was one of several ales available and it was lovely to see CAMRA membership leaflets prominently displayed just inside the door.

Our second venue was the traditional Seven Stars. Here, expecting the event to be well attended, we had reserved the recently refurbished upstairs ‘old bottle store’. It was a great space for us like-minded ale drinkers to get together and sample beers served on gravity. The atmosphere was very convivial and numbers swelled as more folk headed up the stairs to join the group. It was particularly good to welcome some members who we have not seen since pre-Covid times!

In smaller sub-groups we then made our way around the corner to Beerwolf Books. The ping-pong table was set up on the day and some members took the opportunity to enjoy a game or two! As is often the case in Beerwolf Books, a range of ales styles was available. Several members took the opportunity to sample Penzance Brewery ‘Scilly Stout’ which had been aged in a port barrel especially for the festive season!

For some members the next venue was the Oddfellows Arms. This back street pub with a good local following had been popular on our Falmouth Ale Trails event. Due to the compact size of this pub, we had pre-booked the back room with the landlady, Vicky. Here Treen’s Essential was one of the three ales available and members enjoyed good conversation around the pool table. It was nice to find out that we had been joined by members from Plymouth, Cardiff and Surrey/Hants Borders branches.

Our final venue was the ‘front bar on Custom House Quay Although under new management, this bar is being run very much as it always was with a great selection of ales available. For those of us that enjoy dark beers, we were lucky to find two stouts available! Dividing ourselves between tables we all managed to find seats and enjoy the well served ales in the friendly environment. With the ‘front being a short easy stroll to Falmouth Town station it was easy for members to make their way home on the Truro to Falmouth branch line. A good day was enjoyed by all.