SAFARI Evening

North Cotswold Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

North Cotswold CAMRA held their SAFARI evening on the evening of 26^th June to award their coveted Pub of the Year 2014 award to the Plough at Cold Aston who hosted the Main Course. Joint Runners up the Ebrington Arms hosted the starter and The Horse and Groom at Upper Oddington hosted the sweet course.

N Cots Chairman Roger Price presented the framed certificates from CAMRA HQ to Nick and Laura Avery,(Plough) Jim Alexander (Ebrington) and Simon and Sally Jackson (Horse and Groom) Within the North Cotswold area there are 90 pubs of who 10 are in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. They are evaluated over a 12 month period and a short list judged by a panel of experts with a comprehensive audit to determine the winners.

The Ebrington and the Horse and Groom are previous winners but this is a first for the Plough who join the illustrious ranks and go forward to be judged against the other 11 Branch winners in the South Western Region. Each regional winner is then evaluated by CAMRA to determine the National Winner.

The Craven Arms at Brockhampton and the Kings Head at Bledington were joint third place with equal points. Both previous winners. The overall standard of pubs in our area continues to improve and it is gratifying to see a new winner emerge particularly as this pub has been rescued by Nick and Laura following three years of closure.

All three pubs laid on a tremendous range of beer in excellent condition and a menu choice that was appreciated by the participants, many of which had participated in the pub evaluation process. Many thanks to these and other committee members who have made the North Cotswold Branch of CAMRA one of the most enthusiastic in the country.

If anyone wants to join us in this demanding work, evaluating pubs please call me and we will be delighted to bring you into the team.

Regards

Roger

North Cotswold CAMRA Chairman

07850429630