NewsDigest

Heineken is testing how its brands are served in pubs in a new initiative. "Auditors" will assess how outlets perform across a range of areas including the temperature of the beer and the use of branded glassware. Five thousand venues will be tested over the next 12 months. The best outlet each quarter will win an all-expenses paid trip to Amsterdam.

Archers Brewery has been placed into administration. Archers is based in the Great Western Railway locomotive works in Swindon. The company, which brews around 10,000 barrels a year, has run into difficulties due to cash-flow problems. Prospective buyers should contact Amerjit Singh at PricewaterhouseCoopersLLP on 0207 583 5000.

Trust Inns has appointed Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) operations director Andy Willis to help run its new managed division. The 20-strong division has been carved out of 102 M&B pubs it bought for £101m last year. Managing director Brian King said: "These pubs have an average of 10% or less food trade and don't need the labour-intensive operation a catering house demands."

l Trust Inns' managed estate - p17

Double Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford, of Cambridge's Midsummer House, has opened a pub in Essex. The Headley in Great Warley has been renovated by Clifford and has 180 covers. Head chef is Scott Wade, who has worked at Ed and Tom Martin's pub the Gun in London's Docklands. Beer is served in frozen glasses and the menu offers traditional British dishes with a distinctive twist.

Three finalists have been selected in PubChef's Battle of the BBQ competition. The final three, who will compete in a cook-off during National BBQ Week on 30 May, are Tony Robson-Burrell, of Wheatsheaf in Oaksey, Wiltshire, Dave Gurr-Gearing, from the Charlton Arms, Ludford Bridge, Shropshire, and Wayne Cortilla, of the Royal Oak in Poynings, West Sussex. The competition is sponsored by Heinz Foodservice.