Pub’s home ales bring cheer in lean times

Julian Taylor, Landlord of Church Inn Uppermill Winner of Own Brew of the Year Good Pub Guide Award

REGULARS at a Saddleworth pub were today toasting the inn’s success in a nationwide competition.

The Church Inn, Uppermill, has scooped the top prize in the coveted Own Brew Pub of the Year category in the Good Pub Guide 2010.

And landlord Julian Taylor, who has run the pub for more than 15 years, promised: “I am determined to buck the trend of pubs closing by giving my customers great value for money when it comes to having a pint.

“I’d prefer a happy pub full of customers enjoying themselves than selling drinks at over-inflated prices.

“Pubs are currently closing at an incredible rate but, by giving my locals good ale at the right money, things are going well for us.”

The pub shot to fame in the 1997 when it launched its own Saddleworth Moor beer at just £1 a pint which was reckoned to be the cheapest in Britain.

Since then, Julian has developed a a famed range of home-brewed ales which are prepared from his own recipes in a tiny 18th century brew-house next to the pub’s main building.

And, in addition to brewery tours, he has offered first-hand advice to would-be micro-brewers setting up their own breweries.

Four years ago, enterprising Julian (41), a father of four, opened a graveyard next to the pub.

He billed the Church Inn as a place to have “a pie, a pint and a plot” gaining international media coverage.

Some locals have reserved burial sites in the graveyard, which is set in a stunning hillside location.

He said: “Home-brewed ales have really taken off and become hugely popular with discerning drinkers — and so have micro-breweries.

“I have a range of home- brewed ales from £1.50 a pint and premier beers, lagers and ciders from £1.75.

“People are really feeling the pinch these days so it is important they get good deals when they go out for a meal or a pint.

“I am delighted to feature in the awards — it’s a great honour for our little pub — and a fabulous tribute to our loyal customers,” he added.

The Good Pub Guide reveals that prices across the country are getting harder to swallow with prices in Surrey the most expensive.

The average pint in the leafy county sets punters back £3.01.