News

The Swan with Two Necks in the village of Pendleton in Lancashire has won the prestigious National Pub of the Year award from CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. The Swan beat off competition from pubs throughout the country. Landlord Steve Dilworth has run the pub for 27 years, features Copper Dragon ales as his house beers and says the secret of his success is "talking to the barrels"

Added: Wednesday, February 12th 2014

Research by CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, reveals that two pubs a week closed in 2012 as a result of takeovers by giant supermarkets. Tesco is by far the worst offender. CAMRA is calling on the government to close a loophole in the law that allows pubs to be turned in to other premises without planning permission

Added: Thursday, February 6th 2014

Burton MP Andrew Griffiths said at the opening of a new £7m bottling line at Marston's that Chancellor George Osborne had told him his Treasury team is looking at the possibility of a further cut in duty in this year's Budget

Added: Saturday, February 1st 2014

Ale is enjoying a great revival with record sales over the Christmas period. With standard lager in sharp decline, the future for ale in cask, bottle and keg seems secure. Marston's will feature a special range -- the Revisionist Cask Beer Series (pictured left) -- throughout 2014 while Greene King's new specialist plant is reaping a rich reward

Added: Monday, January 27th 2014

CAMRA's winter beer festival moves to Derby Roundhouse (left), an icon of the steam age; Tim Martin calls for cut in VAT on pub food and drink to 5%; SIBA announces conference and beer festival in Sheffield; Moorhouse's to launch new range of seasonal beers for 2014

Added: Friday, January 24th 2014

Business Secretary Vince Cable came under strong criticism in the House of Commons for his slowness in bringing forward plans to reform the giant pub companies. He was speaking during a Labour debate on the need to bring in a statutory code of practice for pubcos. Before the debate, CAMRA's Chief Executive Mike Benner (pictured) said on TV that pubs were closing as a result of high rents and lack of beer choice

Added: Wednesday, January 22nd 2014

Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria, founded by Alex Brodie (pictured) has launched a new range of bottled beers, including an American-style IPA, a dry stout and a powerful export ale that has been aged in American Bourbon casks named Jack and Jim -- guess the distilleries!

Added: Sunday, January 19th 2014

Harbour Brewing in Bodmin, Cornwall, has won a major listing for its IPA with Sainsbury's supermarkets on the back of the brewery's success in the Great British Beer Hunt

Added: Monday, January 13th 2014

Budweiser Budvar has chalked up record export sales at a time when other Czech breweries are seeing a decline in sales. The state-owned brewery also won several significant court battles with its global rival AB InBev in the long-running trademark dispute

Added: Thursday, January 9th 2014

CAMRA has launched a campaign, complete with posters, to promote pubs in January -- a notoriously "dead month" for the trade. Poor customer visits could spell the end for more pubs, CAMRA,says, unless beer lovers rally to their support. And the consumer group is also calling for a freeze on beer duty in the 2014 budget

Added: Monday, January 6th 2014