See-through cellar taps into cask ale
Added: Friday, June 20th 2014
A cask ale "cellar" bar has been installed at the White Hart in Witham, Essex that will allow drinkers to see beers being tapped and choose from the range on offer.
The new innovative White Hart Tap is a first for pub owners Greene King and lessees Dave and Tracy Arnott, showcasing a cask ale "cellar" in full view of customers at the bar. The White Hart Tap has a two-tier rack of cask ales, allowing the pub to serve a much wider range of real ale at the new bar.
A cooling system ensures the ales are served at the right temperature by gravity-fed dispense, straight from the cask.
Husband and wife duo Dave and Tracy have run the White Hart for more than eight years. Dave (pictuered above) commented: “Everyone knows I am passionate about cask ale. It is a skill to properly look after and serve the perfect pint, and it is something I take great pride in doing.
“The new cask ale bar looks incredible and it holds a real wow factor. Not only is it showing off a bit, we hope it will spur people who might not have thought to try real ales before to give it a go.
“It also adds another dimension to our recently refurbished hotel, restaurants and beer garden.”
Clive Chesser, business unit director for Greene King Pub Partners, said: “We love working with tenants like Dave and Tracy who run great pubs and take a great deal of care in properly maintaining and serving cask ale.
“This investment allows them to use theatrics to showcase the quality and commitment to real ale at the White Hart as well as the wide range available.”
The new installation will more than double the pub’s current cask ale pumps, adding eight cask ales to the bar, complementing the six already available. The pub will serve two beers every week from local micro-breweries such as Round Tower Brewery in Chelmsford and Mighty Oak Brewing Company in Maldon, as well as many guest ales and Greene King beers including Old Golden Hen and IPA Reserve.
To enable customers to sample more of the wide range, three different ales in a trio of 1/3 pint glasses are available.
The White Hart also offers draught cider and a variety of bottled craft beer. Craft beer tasting hosted by Greene King and cider tasting hosted by Aspall were available to guests at the launch of the White Hart Tap. Alongside the pub’s calendar of beer festivals, new cider festivals have been added.
To celebrate the launch of the White Hart Tap, Dave and Tracy are offering members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) a 10% discount on cask ale until the end of June.
The White Hart is a Cask Marque accredited pub and Dave has received several accolades for his cellar management. For more information visitwww.whitehartinwitham.co.uk.
