A Keswick bar has made it into the 50th edition of the UK’s best-selling beer and pub guide which has just been published.
The Fox Tap bar at the Keswick Brewery, on Brewery Lane, is a new entry to the 2023 Good Beer Guide, rewarded for serving a consistently fresh pint of ale.
The brewery was established by Sue Jefferson in 2006 on the site of a brewery that closed in 1897 and she opened the public bar in 2019.
Beers on sale in the Fox Tap are usually Keswick Gold, Fox Pale and several changing Keswick Brewery beers.
“We are so proud to be included in the Good Beer Guide 2023,” said Sue. “This is the first time we have been listed and both myself and my team could not be happier.
“Since we opened in October 2019, the bar has been so well received by both locals and visitors. We have faced many challenges since opening, but this feels like all the challenging times were worthwhile.
“I would like to give a huge thanks to all my team both in the bar and on the brewery side who make The Fox Tap what it is.”
Up the valley in Rosthwaite, the Scafell Hotel, which has been in the same safe hands for more than 50 years, makes a well-deserved return to the guide.
In its busy stone flagged Riverside Bar it sells Tirril Old Faithful, Borrowdale Bitter and a couple of changing local ales.
The Good Beer Guide, which is published annually by CAMRA, helps beer lovers take a barometer of the local beer scene. As well as covering 535 of the very best pubs across Cumbria, Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Greater Manchester and more, it keeps track of brewery numbers, and notes a net loss of 14 breweries across the counties.
CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona says: “For nearly five decades, the Good Beer Guide has been a comprehensive guide to the UK’s breweries, their ales, and the best outlets to find them in across the country.
“The Good Beer Guide has always had an important role in acting as a barometer of the beer and pub industry. We believe information gleaned from the guide is absolutely vital in the drive to save our pubs from closure and campaign for policies that better support pubs, local brewers and their customers.
“Whilst we experienced a boom in the brewing industry over recent years, it’s clear that the effects of Covid-19 and subsequent cost of living and cost of goods crisis has been keenly felt. I’d encourage everyone to use this guide to seek out the very best examples of pub excellence and support these locals by visiting them.”
