Beer buffs raise a glass to county ale

In the latest edition of the organisation’s Good Beer Guide, 121 Lancashire pubs get the seal of approval for serving proper beer.

And the county has six new micro-breweries as the trend for real ale over mass produced pasteurised beer grows.

Among the new breweries noted are the 3 Piers Brewery, in Poulton; the West Coast Rock Brewing Co, based at the 1887 Brew Room on Church Street, Blackpool; the Providence Brewery, in Bamber Bridge, the Chain House Brewing Co, in New Longton; Avid Brewing of Quernmore Brow, near Lancaster; and Corless Brewing near Scorton.

One county micro-pub, Little Bare in Bare village, Morecambe, has been named one of 16 finalists in the Campaign for Real Ale’s National Pub of the Year competition.

A former off-licence, it was opened in 2017 by Val, Julie and Nick McCann and has proved a hit for its ale, atmosphere, decor and service.

Tom Stainer, chief communications officer at CAMRA said: “It’s fantastic to see the number of new pub entries in the Good Beer Guide 2019 and the continued growth in local brewing.

“We’ve seen such sweeping changes across the brewing and pub scene over the past year with brewing becoming more collaborative and socially-minded, and pubs continuing to diversify to cater for all tastes with the continued increase in micropubs, tap rooms and community-run pubs.”

It is the 46th edition of the Good Beer Guide. Lancashire has 121 named pubs, 38 new entries, 45 breweries and six new breweries. Cumbria has 88 pubs and 40 breweries.