The North West's First Micropub. CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013. Find us in the 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 CAMRA Good Beer Guides.


Saturday 30 March 2013

Happy Easter and CAMRA Pub of the Year Award

The op went well and looking forward to getting back into the swing. But this week has not been all sleep, we've been doing some planning while closed. Here are some dates for your diary:

April 9th-Presentation of Lunesdale CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013 award 7-30pm.

April 23rd-St George's Night Quiz-Fundraiser for Help for Heroes and a bit of shameless patriotism!

June 9th-Snug Outing. Details to be confirmed.

Thanks to those helpful chaps at Old School Brewery we now have a full stillage ready for reopening on Tuesday 2nd April. On the stillage we have:

Unsworth's Yard-Last Wolf
Old School-Textbook
Kirkby Lonsdale-Old Tannery
Nine Standards-Royal Standard
Quantum-American Amber Ale
Deeply Vale-Still Walking
Bob's Brewing Co-Chardonnayle

Happy Easter to all and many thanks to all who sent best wishes and such generous offers of help. Look forward to seeing you next week.

Thursday 21 March 2013

We Hope You're Thirsty

Well we're hurtling towards weekend and we have some damn fine ale on offer.

We have Marlpool Brewing Co's Scratty Ratty at 4.4%. Cumberland Corby Blonde at 4.2%. Two Roses Chinook at 4% and a little Stringers No 2 Stout left at 4.4%.

Tomorrow we will be joined by Hawkshead Bitter at 3.7% and, either tomorrow or Saturday, Bowness Bay's new Swan Black.

We hope you're all thirsty because, as we are closed from Sunday for a week reopening Tuesday 2 April, everything must go.

Funny, I'm going in for a minor op on Monday and this classic song has been running through my head all week. Can't think why.


Tuesday 19 March 2013

Lunesdale CAMRA Pub of the Year 2013

It seems amazing to think that we only had the idea of opening a micropub a year ago, and here we are, voted Pub of the Year by the members of the Lunesdale Branch of CAMRA. What an amazing twelve months we've both had.

We must thank Martyn Hillier firstly of the Butcher's Arms in Kent. Martyn had the vision to open the first micropub and has inspired many of us to follow in his footsteps. He also provided invaluable help and support when we were setting up. Thanks also to Pete at the Rat Race Alehouse for spending a boring lunchtime with me when I fired probably inane questions at him for a couple of hours. Likewise Colin at The Conqueror in Ramsgate and Merf at Just Beer, Newark.

Much gratitude must go to all our customers, many of whom have become loyal regulars in the last seven months, and to all those who have travelled from far and wide to give us a try. Both of us have worked hard, especially Julie while still holding down a full time job, but the warmth and generosity of our customers has been amazing and extremely rewarding.

Of course we couldn't do it without good beer and we must always remember the brewers and the breweries. Special thanks to Carl, in consultation with Matt at Lancaster Brewery, for designing the stillage that has proved such a popular feature and his lads for their building expertise.

Finally thanks to the CAMRA members who voted for us, it really is appreciated. Now that's it before I start sounding like an Oscar winner.

PS Please remember, we have to close for a week unfortunately from 25th March, reopening 2 April with Jules in charge while I recover from a minor op.  But that gives us time to plan our St George's Day quiz in support of Help for Heroes on April 23rd.

Friday 15 March 2013

Every Day is Silent and Grey-But There's Great Beer!

Well another weekend arrives and it's time to reveal this weekend's line-up on the pumps.

Last night we were joined for the first time by Bowness Bay's new Teale Tipple, a darkish malty drink, indeed a fine tipple and a session beer at 3.6%. We also have, at 5.1%, appearing in The Snug for the first time Moorehouse's Pendle Witches Brew and the Wold Top Headland Red at 4.3%. Also making its debut this weekend is the Otters Pocket (4%) from the wonderful Marlpool Brewing Co in Derbyshire, and from Manchester Marble Lagonda (5%) is making a much awaited return.

Seeing a damp grey Morecambe promenade on my morning constitutional today I couldn't help thinking of Morrissey and a song that seems to say; forget the weather and the sand and the pebbles and have a pint of decent beer in somewhere warm and cosy:



Please remember that we will be closed from March 25 to April 2.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Easter Closure-Update!

Following yesterday's blog post I received a phone call from the Royal Lancaster and they have had a cancellation, my operation will now be on March 25th rather than April or May. This means that we will now be closed from March 25th for a week, reopening Tuesday April 2nd.

Hope to see you all before then.

Monday 11 March 2013

Easter Closure

The Snug will be closed over Easter from closing on Thursday 28 March reopening Tuesday 2 April.

Unfortunately I will be having a minor operation, probably in April, and Julie will be using her leave to keep the show on the road after my operation. Easter will give us a chance for a short break using the bank holidays.

To make up we will have some extra special beers on when we reopen.

Friday 8 March 2013

It's Friday-This Weekend's Cures

At lunchtime today we will have a little OSB Detention and a little Hopscotch, but not a lot. We also have Kirkby Lonsdale's wonderful Jubilee Stout and Dunscar Bridge's Steeplejack from Bolton.

Tonight we will have Unsworth's Yard's Cartmel Penninsula and Magpie Brewery's Snowdrop joining us on the bar. I'm hoping that Privateer's Dainty Blonde will be joining us today or tomorrow on the fifth pump. Mustn't forget the Old Rosie and the Farmhouse scrumpy from Gwynt y Ddraig.

The cost of Sunday's trip to Hawkshead Brewery and Beer Hall, the Watermill at Ings and the Strickland Arms will be £7, departing 11-30am returning at 7-00pm. There are still a few places left so please get in touch if you would like to join us.

Now, until you can join us for this weekend's cures a little treat:


Monday 4 March 2013

Marble Decadence


We now have Marble Decadence in stock. 1 pint 9fl ozs (750mls in funny money) of 8.7% Imperial Russian Stout retailing at £9 a bottle.

Go on, treat yourself. Open again tomorrow at 12-00.

Don't forget we also have Ginger, Dobber, Lagonda and Manchester Bitter in 500ml bottles at £3.20 a go.

Friday 1 March 2013

It's Like A Gold Bar This Weekend!

As we drift towards spring, with lighter nights and a bit of sunshine, so we have lightened up on the beer front. We start the weekend with all five pumps employed. So what are we offering?

Well, Mrs B is the one with the head for figures and high finance and she recently suggested that gold was a good investment. So, knowing she's got her head screwed on, I contacted those nice chaps at the Barngates and Nine Standards breweries and they promptly suggested I invest in a cask of Brathay Gold and a cask of Gold Standard. So there are two of this weekend's liquid assets.

We also have some Privateer Roebuck, a nice amber ale, and a Kirkby Lonsdale Ruskins as well as the flavoursome Eden Fuggle.

Gold, it's the new....gold! In the meantime, if you can't wait for us to open and sample the Brathay Gold, or one of our other delightful ales, have bit of Gold courtesy of Spandau Ballet: