Brakspear’s Best Kept Cellar Competition

Henley Pub Operator and Brewer Brakspear have announced the winner of this year’s Best Kept Cellar competition which is The Clifton Arms in Caversham.

Licensee Seona MacKenzie wins a unique prize for her pub on Gosbrook Road – a ‘house beer’.  The beer, called Clifton Pride, was named by Seona, who also helped to design the pump clip. The 4% ale on will be on tap at the Clifton Arms from early October.

All 145 Brakspear pubs were initially considered for the Best Kept Cellar competition. Four finalists were then judged by Henley-based Roger Clayson, who works for Cask Marque, the organisation that assesses pubs for their beer and cellar quality.

On a thorough visit of each pub, Roger checked cellar cleanliness, stock rotation, line cleaning and glass washing – all factors that have an impact on the quality of beer served across the bar. The Clifton Arms came top with a very impressive score of 79%.

Roger said, “Seona and her team at the Clifton clearly devote care and time to cellar maintenance, line cleaning and the other areas judged for the competition.   I’m sure that she, and the other excellent finalists, are reaping the rewards in terms of beer quality and sales.”

The other three finalists in the competition were:  Stephen Clay & Monika Anna Urbaniak, The John Barleycorn, Goring-on-Thames; Howard Witten, Crooked Billet, Wokingham and Mary Dixon, Victoria, Barking.  All will have their Cask Marque fees paid by Brakspear for the year.