SIBA chair urges councils to serve beer

David Grant, general manager of Moorhouse's Brewery in Burnley, has written to local authorities asking them to serve British beer rather than wine at official events, in a bid to raise the profile of cask ale. "I am asking that cask ale be put on for civic occasions such as mayor makings, at least as an alternative to foreign wines," said Grant, who is northern chairman of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). "Traditional cask ale is a unique part of our heritage and I firmly believe it should be celebrated at official British functions ­ just as the French celebrate their wine." Portman links up with Lancs initiative Licensees across Lancashire are being sent window stickers to promote safe drinking, in a link-up between the county's Nightsafe campaign and the Portman Group. The stickers feature Portman's responsible drinking message, "If you do do drink, don't do drunk". Portman chief executive Jean Coussins said: "Our partnership with Nightsafe is one of many strong local partnerships across the country to tackle drink-related disorder. Window stickers on every pub door will show that the licensee will not tolerate drunken and anti-social behaviour, and will send the clearest possible message to customers." Richmond pub wins Young's wine award Licensee Phyl Heggie has won the top wine award presented annually to licensees of Young's houses throughout the South of England. Heggie, of the White Cross in Richmond-upon-Thames, London, received the Chairman's Trophy for Wine Excellence from brewery chairman John Young at the annual lunch of Young's wine division. The award is judged on the steps taken to train staff and how effectively they promote and sell wine. Union introduces licensee starter pack The Union Pub Company, Wolves' tenanted arm based in Burton, has launched a new starter pack to support licensees joining the estate. It will be presented to new lessees two weeks before they sign their lease agreement and includes thingsthey need for the first six months of a lease plus information on health & safety. In-house CCTV term of Tyneside licence A South Tyneside pub has been forced to install CCTV inside as a condition of its licence. Following a police request to magistrates, the Rose & Crown in East Holborn, South Shields, must operate CCTV and keep the recordings for 28 days. It follows an August raid when eight people were arrested on drug allegations and other offences. One man has been charged with obstruction, two cautioned for possessing cannabis, two men are on bail until2 November, and two men and a woman were released.