Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Hull & East Yorkshire Branch NEWS RELEASE

Licensees of Village 'Local' are Chosen for Seasonal Award

Issued 16th September 2005

Mark and Catherine Hallsworth, licensees of ‘The Old Star Inn’ in Kilham have been chosen to receive the ‘Pub Mirror Award – Autumn 2005’ for “Continuing Commitment to Quality Real Ale”.

The seasonal awards are currently being used to recognise those licensees in the Hull and East Yorkshire area who have demonstrated a "Continuing Commitment to Quality Real Ale" at a time when they are under great pressure to remove distinctive, tasty real ale and replace it with ‘easily kept’ heavily advertised, bland tasting nitro-keg beers. The award therefore, also acknowledges those licensees who practise the specialised art of cellermanship. This is because real ale requires expertise to prepare and maintain it in good condition whereas nitro-keg beer only requires connecting to a mixed-gas cylinder before selling.

Mark and Catherine originate from the Midlands. However, they were running a restaurant / café in Scarborough when they decided to look for a suitable pub to buy. After looking at various possibilities all over the country they decided to buy the Old Ship Inn at Kilham and took over on the 7th March 2003. The pub is mainly a village ‘local’ but is also very popular with visitors.

Lager was much more popular than the real ale when they first took over but they made a positive decision to try and increase the real ale sales by offering their customers a greater choice. They decided two offer two regulars and two regularly changing guest beers; John Smith’s Bitter, Archer’s Golden (4.7% ABV), one beer always from within Yorkshire and another from elsewhere. The improved choice, plus Mark’s efforts in the cellar to ensure good condition, has seen the real ale sales grow steadily and they now match the sales of lager.

The pubs opening hours are presently: 12-2 and 5.30-11 Monday to Friday; 5.30-11 Saturday, and 12-10.30 on a Sunday.

The award will be presented to Mark and Catherine by CAMRA Branch Chairman, Alan Canvess tomorrow night, Saturday 17th September 2005 at sometime after 7.00 pm. A large gathering of the pub’s regular customers and CAMRA members are expected to attend the presentation. Amongst them will be Paul Alterskye, the branch’s Pubs Officer for Hull who nominated Mark and Catherine for the award, stating “The combination of an interesting beer selection and consistently good quality make every visit to this pub enjoyable.”