Pub Of The Month Selection

At each month's branch meeting (second Thursday of the month) pubs are proposed for our Pub Of The Month award. The proposing member then explains why the pub deserves this accolade. Comments and questions are then invited from the floor. When all arguments have been made a show of hands is used to select that months winner. If the lead pub doesn't have at least 50% of the votes, the pub with the least votes is eliminated and the process repeated until a winner emerges (with the chairman's vote deciding in the case of a dead heat).

There are three requisite criteria for eligibility which are

• The proposer MUST have visited the pub within the previous four weeks.
  • Ensures an up-to-date report and not a long distant fond memory.
• The landlord MUST have been in place for six months or more.
  • Ensures they have a proven track record and not riding on their launch event.
• Having won the award, a pub does not become eligible again until TWO YEARS have passed.
  • Ensures a select few pubs are not repetitively nominated and thus dominate the award.

NOTE: As part of CAMRA’s Handpump Hijack Campaign (https://camra.org.uk/take-action/handpump-hijack/) any pub serving Marstons "FreshAle" products (currently limited to Wainwright Golden, Wainwright Amber and/or Hobgoblin IPA) will be excluded from all CAMRA awards.

There are no hard and fast criteria for eligibility, only a set of guidelines. The award is given to a pub for excellence and innovation, not just because it serves a multitude of beers from selected micro-breweries.

Excellence can cover:

• Conversion or reverting to real ale after years without
• Social engagement events: eg fund raising for local hospice; themed day, eg Victorian; et cetera
• Community inclusion, eg darts teams, wellbeing events, meal for OAPs and et cetera
• Upgrade of the pub fabric, from an extension to a re-decoration
• Continued beer quality

Unlike the popular perception that awards given by the Campaign for Real Ale are simply to the pub with the most beers, we in Stockport and South Manchester endeavour to recognise excellence, commitment, enterprise and sheer hard work. Thus an establishment selling but a single beer, and located in a back street industrial estate, but which is packed every night and runs three darts team and annual events for senior citizens is as likely to win as a multi-ale free house.