The Cricketers Arms receiving CAMRA’s regional Pub of the Year award in 2016
The Cricketers Arms, in St Helens, Merseyside, has won CAMRA’s pub of the year title just five years after it was boarded up for closure.
When owners Andy and Denise Evans took over running the pub in 2013, it was boarded up and hadn’t served cask ale since the 1980s. The Cricketers Arms is now a well-established local community pub with an excellent selection of 13 locally-sourced cask ales and up to 20 ciders in the summer.
Alongside an impressive ale and cider range, there are plans for a microbrewery to open in the next few months and customers will be asked to name the pub’s beers. Visitors can also take part in a number of social nights, including regular beer festivals, dominoes, jam nights, pub quizzes, karaoke and pool teams, as well as enjoying a new whisky and gin bar.
Paul Ainsworth, CAMRA’s national pub of the year co-ordinator, said: “After winning the regional award in both 2015 and 2016, it’s a well deserved third time lucky for The Cricketers to be named CAMRA’s national pub of the year.
“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. What impressed me the most is that The Cricketers is a genuine community pub where people from all walks of life come together to socialise. It is a shining example of how a pub, which seems destined for closure, can have its fortunes turned around when in the right hands.”
Andy Evans said: “We are over the moon to be named the top pub in the country after just a few short years of renovations. 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 and put greens in the ground, and have big plans to install a microbrewery this year. We are very proud to be part of the cask ale scene and look forward to celebrating with our locals!”
Runners-up in the competition include the Wigan Central, in Wigan, the Stanford Arms, in Lowestoft, and the Weavers Real Ale House, in Kidderminster. Pubs in the competition are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, décor, welcome, service, community focus and, most importantly, quality of beer.
