Time to vote for St Helens and District CAMRA Pub of the Year and Club of the Year
It’s that time of year again when CAMRA members in St Helens get to decide on which is the best real ale pub in the town and who deserves the accolade for the best club.
Eight local establishments have been shortlisted for St Helens CAMRA Pub of the Year award* and five local clubs have been shortlisted for Club of the Year**. So, it’s now down to real ale drinkers to come out and vote for who they think deserves the accolades for 2022.
The St Helens CAMRA Pub of the Year and Club of the Year can be voted for by all CAMRA members registered with the branch. The pubs that made the cut were shortlisted based on ‘WhatPub’ scoring – which is carried out by any CAMRA member visiting pubs during the year. Out of the 70 pubs listed by us, the eight shortlisted are those with the best accumulated scores throughout the year – where people visiting those pubs have scored the beer they are drinking. Any club that meets the criteria set out by CAMRA nationally, can be included in the Club of the Year competition.
Our Pubs Officer, Ian Pye, said: “The voting for Pub of the Year and Club of the Year is open to all our members and I’d encourage anyone who is a member to get out there and vote.
“It’s the first time since the national lockdown that drinkers have been able to go and visit pubs and clubs and vote on which they think deserves to be crowned CAMRA Pub of the Year and Club of the Year for 2022.
“The only way a pub can win this award is if people who drink there score the beers regularly on ‘WhatPub’ and then take part in the final scoring for Pub of the Year and visit each pub on the shortlist.
“Given the last few difficult years for the pub industry, it’s vital that people get out there and support our pubs and clubs to make sure they continue being a focus in the community for years to come.”
The scoring forms are available to download online, or available at any of the shortlisted pubs or clubs.
All venues need to be scored to make them eligible for consideration for Pub of the Year and Club of the Year. Once all venues have been visited and scored, for the Pub of the Year competition, people can drop their form into the box provided at the final pub they visit. Alternatively, they can return it via email (poty@sthelenscamra.org.uk) or hand in in person at the committee meeting on 9th March (venue TBC) Club of the Year forms are to be emailed or handed in in person at the committee meeting.
Members are asked to visit each pub on the shortlist and score it out of 10 for eight areas:
- quality and condition of real ale
- Promotion and knowledge of real ale
- Cleanliness and staff hygiene
- Service, welcome and offering
- Style, décor and furnishings
- Community focus and atmosphere
- Sympathy with CAMRA’s aims
- Overall impression and value
The quality of ale and cider score is weighted so that it counts as ‘double’ compared to the other scores. These are then all counted and compiled to decide the Pub of the Year and Club of the Year for St Helens and Districts CAMRA area. This is also the first step in the shortlisting process that ultimately leads to CAMRA National Pub of the Year selection.
*Those shortlisted for PUB OF THE YEAR are: The Beer EnGin (Whiston), Cricketers Arms (Town Centre), The Junction (Rainford), New Talbot Alehouse (Town Centre), The Sefton (Town Centre), Skew Bridge Alehouse (Rainhill), Turks Head (Town Centre), The Watch Maker (Prescot).
** Those shortlisted for CLUB OF THE YEAR are: Haydock Reading Room, Prescot Cables Football Club, Prescot Reform Club, Rainford Labour Club, Rainhill Recreation Club.
