Brewery's ale trail gets its first champion

Mike Bunting, 61, became the first person to complete the St Austell Brewery Ale Trail Challenge, visiting 150 of the brewery’s 168 pubs, hotels and inns across the West Country.

Mike and his partner Janet began their journey after the competition was launched last summer and completed the quest last week. Their final stop was a tour of the Brewery Visitor Centre in St Austell – a prize they won for visiting 50 locations.

Mr Bunting, of Marhamchurch in north Cornwall, said: “We’ve taken in some fantastic pubs along the way and met some fabulous people. We’ve been welcomed like family in many of them and all of the beer has been in fantastic condition, which isn’t always easy when you’re dealing with real ale.”

When asked of his favourite tipple, he plumped for St Austell Brewery’s Clouded Yellow wheat beer.

The St Austell Brewery Ale Trail, which offers a range of prizes is set to run throughout 2014.

More information and ale trail passports can be found at www.staustellbrewery.co.uk/aletrail​