Micropub

Beer from new Cumbrian brewery named Beer of the Year

By Sara Hussein

- Last updated on GMT

Picture from carlislebrewingco on Instagram
Picture from carlislebrewingco on Instagram

Related tags Beer

A beer from a new Cumbrian microbrewery received top prize at the Beer of the Year Awards last week (Friday 4 November). 

Carlisle Brewing Company’s Spun Gold impressed the judges with its ‘crisp, hoppy taste’ and ‘fruity’ lingering flavour at the event, which was run by the Solway branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). 

Based in Cummersdale near Carlisle, Cumbria, the microbrewery is owned by licensees Alain and Alison Davis who also run the Spinners Arms in the same area.

On their website, the operators said: “It is fantastic to get this kind of feedback for something you produce.

“We like our beer and we always hope that other people will enjoy it too. We would like to say thank you so much to everyone that voted for Spun Gold - it means a lot to us!”

Strong competition

Festival organiser Paul Claringbold said: “We are proud to congratulate Carlisle Brewing Company for the well-deserved award.”

He added: “There was a strong competition this year and it came down to four breweries in our area, with a shortlist of two beers for each brewery.”

Stirred by their passion for craft beer, the operators set up a 2.5- litre barrel microbrewery on their pub site in 2013, before expanding two years later to a bigger plant.

The pub has received numerous accolades, it has been listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide​ on multiple occasions and was awarded Solway CAMRA Pub of the Season twice.

Both licensees were not available for comment. 

Growth of micropubs

Micropubs have grown steadily since the end of 2005 with the Licensing Act 2003 – this eased the process of opening a previously unlicensed premises.

Smaller in size and with lower maintenance costs than other pubs, micropubs have far fewer staff to manage the site and are solely focused on selling cask ale to customers.

The original micropub, the Butcher’s Arms in Herne Bay, near Canterbury in Kent, was opened in 2005 by Martyn Hillier. 

Related topics Beer

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