Ale and party! ‘Doomed’ pub now UK’s best
A PUB once boarded up and apparently doomed was yesterday crowned the best for beer in the country.
The Cricketers Arms, in St Helens, Merseyside, has gone in five short years from being almost derelict to being a paradise for ale fans.
Now it has landed the ultimate accolade...being named pub of the year by the Campaign for Real Ale.
Landlord Andy Evans, 45, for 23 years a full-time postman, declared: “We’re absolutely made up to be named the top pub in the country after just a few short years.
“It’s been a real team effort and we’re just thrilled.
“But this is just the beginning – there’s lots more to do and we’re determined we’ll win it again.”
Andy and wife Denise, 41, took on the pub in 2013.
At the time Andy had never pulled a pint in his life but he and Denise shared a passion for cask ale.
Potential
Andy said: “I’d loved going to the pub – that Friday night feeling. But although I lived near here, the Cricketers wasn’t really on my radar. Then we started thinking about buying a pub. When this place came up for sale I realised its potential.”
The couple took over, armed with a business loan.
Andy said: “For the first couple of years I carried on with my postman job but I nearly died of exhaustion and now it’s all about the pub.”
The main draws are its beer, its cider and its atmosphere. But it also serves up 100 different types of gin in its new whiskey and gin bar.
There’s a wide selection of 13 real ales from around the UK and at least 10 ciders – up to 20 varieties in the summer months.
There’s no restaurant but the barfood offering is another pull – awardwinning locally-made pork pies.
And the couple hold regular beer festivals and karaoke nights.
Andy said: “We’ve done everything we can to make this a welcoming community pub and still have exciting developments ahead of us.
“As well as expanding the beers available, we created a beer garden ...outside, pub boasts floral displays and have big plans to install a microbrewery this year.”
Paul Ainsworth of Camra said: “After winning the regional award in both 2015 and 2016, it’s a welldeserved third time lucky for the Cricketers.
“In less than five years, Andy and Denise have converted a boarded-up pub on the brink of closure into a true destination pub for beer lovers across the country.”
Runners-up were The Wigan Central in Wigan, The Weavers Real Ale House in Kidderminster, Worcs, and the Stanford Arms in Lowestoft, East Anglia.