Celebrating the best in pub excellence

A glittering awards ceremony hosted by St Austell Brewery last night, Thursday January 26, has celebrated the very best of the south west’s pub industry. 

The annual Tribute Estate Awards ceremony, held at the Great Western Hotel in Newquay, gave awards in a total of 19 categories in recognition of excellence and success within the Brewery’s 170-strong pub and hotel estate. 

More than 270 tenants, managers, industry sponsors and staff from St Austell Brewery’s pubs and hotels across the region came together at the Great Western Hotel to hear the winners announced. 

Adam Luck, St Austell Brewery’s Estate Director said: “The annual awards are always such a proud moment. Despite a challenging year generally many of our pubs have had a very good year and continue to thrive. These awards allow us all to celebrate the successes and achievements of the many people whose hard work and dedication help ensure our pubs remain a credit to the communities they serve and the envy of our competitors.” 

Two special Directors’ Awards for Outstanding Achievement were awarded to Maurice Sweeney of Carlsberg UK in recognition of his 24 years of loyal service and support to St Austell Brewery; and also to Vicky Crossingham who retired from her role on the company’s Senior Management Team in July 2011.

Rupert Wilson and Ian Fitzgerald of The Cornish Arms in St Merryn picked up the Tenants of the Year award and Larry and Sue Sleight of the Port William Inn, Trebarwith Strand were recognised as Managers of the Year. 

Receiving the title of Environmentally Sustainable Business of the Year was the Rashleigh Arms in Charlestown in testimony of their commitment to an ongoing green practice above the call of duty. 

In recognition of their commitment to staff development, the Training Award was awarded to the Ship Inn, Looe. 

The top food accolade for Catering Excellence Business of the Year, was handed to Truro-based Wig & Pen in the Tenancy category and staying close to home in the same city, the County Arms scooped the award in the Managed category. 

The Cask Ale Pub of the Year (Managed) was won by the Holmbush Inn, St Austell and the Duke of Cornwall, also in St Austell received the Tenancy top title.  

The Fountain Inn, Mevagissey was awarded Community Pub of the Year (Tenancy) and special mention was given to Bill Moore who is celebrating 30 years at the helm of this thriving village pub. Alex and Tanya Williams and Carl Ball from the Polgooth Inn received the award for New tenants of the Year. 

The event host, The Great Western Hotel, Newquay was awarded Smiles Champion of the Year in recognition for the hotel’s commitment to customer care and the Brewery’s customer service programme.  

Newquay’s Central Inn was awarded Marketing & Innovation Business of the Year Award (Managed) and in the same category for a Tenancy pub, the accolade was handed to the Victoria Inn, Threemilestone. 

A QualityIn Tourism Accommodation award was handed to the Hope & Anchor, Hope Cove in South in Devon and the Falcon Inn, St Mawgan was recognised for the Pub Floral Display of the Year. 

The title of Wine House of the Year was clinched by Exeter based, the Mill on the Exe. 

Two new awards introduced this year included the Best Turnaround Pub for both Managed and Tenancy. The Mill on the Exe scooped its second award in the evening in the Tenancy category. The Harbour Inn, Porthleven was awarded the top title in the Managed category.

16 finalists, 1 public vote but no Simon Cowell

Forget X Factor, the real search for the UK’s best singers is finally over.

Well, pub singers that is… regulars of the Seven Stars Inn, Stithians, Cornwall, have sung their way to the top and will now be performing alongside Port Isaac’s famous ensemble Fisherman’s Friends in their own local.

Back in June, Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery launched a nationwide search for singers game enough to enter a karaoke-style competition and cover an old favourite by unlikely superstar shanty singers Fisherman’s Friends – the faces of the Brewery’s much-loved Tribute Ale.

A Youtube poll decided the final winner after Fisherman’s Friends showed their support for the sixteen finalists. TheSeven Stars Inn received 34% of beer lovers’ votes, making them the clear winner.

Fans of Tribute Ale entered the Tribute Act competition by submitting videos of themselves and their colleagues, family and friends performing their version of the traditional Cornish pub song ‘Little Eyes’. There were entries from karaoke wannabees, professional tribute acts, touring farmers and even the staff of St Austell Brewery themselves.

The Seven Stars Inn is now the only pub in Stithians, which has a population of just over 2000. It is a lively, welcoming traditional Cornish local pub with a great selection of real ale and good quality food at great value.

Lisa Curnow, the landlady of the Seven Stars Inn, said: “Everyone at the Seven Stars is delighted to have won this competition. Once our regulars heard about Tribute Act they insisted we all got together, recorded our entry and show the strong Stithians community spirit. We’re all very much looking forward to singing alongside the Fisherman’s Friends!”

James Staughton, St Austell Brewery’s managing director and great-great grandson of Walter Hicks, founder of the Brewery, said: “Like Tribute Ale, the Fisherman’s Friends are a true Cornish success story.

“We like to share this success with our fans and the opportunity arose to bring the Fisherman’s Friends along to someone’s local. We were impressed with the quality of all the entries but I have to agree with the public vote – the Seven Stars deserved the top prize.”

John Cleve of The Fisherman’s Friends said “I think we might have some real competition out there. It was tough whittling the entries down to only three, as the effort all the acts put into the song was amazing. We are delighted to be performing at the Seven Stars Inn. We’re hoping for a packed house and plenty of Tribute Ale to lubricate this very special Cornish singalong.”

The winner’s details and a list of all the entries can be found at www.tributeale.co.uk/tributeact, www.youtube.com/tributeale or www.facebook.com/StAustellBrewery. If you would like to attend the Fisherman’s Friends gig at the Seven Stars Inn please contact 01179 731173 for more details.

160 Trees Marks Brewery’s 160 Years

James Staughton, MD of St Austell Brewery and Adam Luck, Estate Director

One of Cornwall’s oldest businesses has marked its 160^th anniversary by planting 160 trees. 

St Austell Brewery has planted the saplings across its pub estate to celebrate its 160 year anniversary in 2011. 

The trees, which have found new homes in the grounds of the Brewery’s pubs and hotels across the South West, mark an important milestone in the Brewery’s history and also uphold the business’s commitment to minimising environmental impact.    

The Brewery’s Managing Director, James Staughton, and Estate Director Adam Luck donned their wellingtons and planted a tree in the grounds of St Austell Brewery itself.  

James said: “Planting the trees across the Brewery’s estate is a perfect way to celebrate such a huge milestone for the company.  The planting ensures that we provide a lasting contribution to the environment and community in which we work, and is also a wonderful way for our pubs and hotels across the estate to unite in the celebration.” 

As part of its wider commitment to the environment, the company is undertaking several programmes to cut its carbon use by 30% in the next five years.  This includes developing a local sourcing policy, installing energy-efficient lighting across the pub estate and extending the use of biodiesel in the Brewery’s delivery drays. 

St Minver Players raise the curtain for St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust

With the cheque, John Treglown from St Austell Brewery with Rose Wiltshire, Cornwall Hospice Care along with the St Minver Players

St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust has received a generous donation from Wadebridge-based St Minver Players. 

The cheque for £450 is the latest contribution to the Trust by the amateur dramatic group, and will be given to the Cornwall Hospice Care, one of the Trust’s nominated charities. 

John Treglown, Sales Development Manager, at St Austell Brewery said: ‘We are thrilled that the St Minver players chose to donate to St Austell Brewery’s Trust once again. We would like to congratulate and thank them for their efforts which will contribute to the valuable work of Cornwall Hospice Care.”    

Launched in 2003 to raise money for local charities in the St Austell Brewery trading area within Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, the trust has raised over £300,000 to date. This year the nominated charities of the trust include Cornwall Hospices and Little Harbour.  

For more information visit: www.staustellbrewery.co.uk

Princetown Christmas Cheer!

Regulars at the Plume of Feathers Princetown were treated to a Christmas treat when manager Sarah Ruffles decided to run a beer festival to decide the best local Christmas brew. 

Local brewers were invited to enter their festive offering and 10 brewers took up the challenge. The Beer Festival ran for two days but a judging panel of the pubs customers and members of Plymouth CAMRA were entrusted to determine the overall winner.  

In a closely matched and tense day of judging the eventual winner was St Austell Brewery’s Raisins to be Cheerful, a 5.5% abv ale, brewed as the names suggests with lashings of juicy raisins to create a brew that was dark, superbly rich and fruity just like a Christmas cake.  

Sarah Ruffles commented, “ Our locals really had a great day tasting all the unusual beers on offer and we were delighted to get the help of CAMRA members to judge the winner. 

St Austell Brewery’s Head Brewer visited the pub to receive the winner’s trophy and said “ What a wonderful idea to hold a Beer Festival just for festive brews. Raisins to be Cheerful is a beer we brew once a year and we know it’s Christmas once this brew emerges from the mash tuns. It’s a lovely beer, full of flavour and bigger and bolder than any Boxing Day jumper!”

Smiles All Round for St Austell Brewery’s Training Programme

St Austell Brewery has been awarded a BII NITA Innovation in Training Award from the licensed industry’s professional body on Wednesday November 30^th at The Imperial War Museum in London. 

The Innovation in Training Award recognises a business that is able to demonstrate an innovative approach to training and development, set against clear business objectives and individual needs. 

St Austell Brewery was rewarded the accolade in recognition for the Smiles All Round Programme. The campaign, which was launched in 2010, saw the introduction of a Moments of Truth Cluedo-style game which placed staff in the Brewery’s 25 managed estate into the customer’s shoes, encouraging staff to deliver exceptional service.  

Simple customer satisfaction cards were also distributed ensuring service is continually improved through customer feedback.  The end result saw effective staff engagement through rewarding employees for excellent customer service. 

James Staughton, Managing Director at St Austell Brewery, said: “ The BII NITAs attract a huge following so we’re really delighted to have scooped an award. Receiving a NITA award is the ultimate recognition of training excellence within the industry and is testament to the excellent training facilities and staff at St Austell Brewery.” 

The BII NITA Awards are open to pub companies, breweries, colleges, universities, training companies and individual licensees. Entrants are judged on their own merits irrespective of the size of the organisation or the number of people being trained.  

For more information visit: www.staustellbrewery.co.uk