The Pheasant Inn in Wellington, home of Rowton Brewery, received the award for county pub of the year at the Telford and East Shropshire CAMRA AGM at the weekend.
Jim and Peter Preston receive the award from Telford and East Shropshire CAMRA chair Adrian Zawierka
The pub is very much a family business, with father and son Jim and Peter Preston receiving the award, which celebrates both the quality of cask ale served at the pub and its fantastic, welcoming atmosphere.
Jim founded Rowton Brewery at the pub in 2008, and the family has been running the venue for the last six years. They serve Rowton Brewery beers as well as other cask ales from some of the best-loved breweries around the country.
The award is voted for by hundreds of local members of the Campaign for Real Ale and was presented by branch chair, Adrian Zawierka.
“It’s one of the biggest accolades Rowton Brewery has had,” said Jim.
Peter added: “This is very special. The Pheasant Inn is a community pub and you can’t have a pub without people, so we’d like to thank everyone who has dropped in this year.”
Dozens of real ale enthusiasts turned out for the presentation and the campaign meeting which followed it. Telford and East Shropshire CAMRA’s patch covers a huge area, from Market Drayton in the north to Cleobury Mortimer in the south. Members fight to secure the long-term future of real ale, real cider, and real perry, and promote pubs and clubs as social centres and part of the UK’s cultural heritage.
The branch runs beer festivals for the general public and socials for its members, as well as publishing a newsletter, and taking part in local campaigns to support pubs and breweries. They also log beer scores to help identify wonderful pubs serving well-kept ale that warrant inclusion in the Good Beer Guide.
