Harrogate Tap has received an award for being named Harrogate district pub of the year by the Campaign for Real Ale.

The pub, which is situated in the restored railway building at Harrogate station, was voted first ahead of more than 150 eligible pubs in the area.

Alan Gould, chairman of the Harrogate and Ripon branch of Camra, said the “beautifully restored” pub had been recognised for its “outstanding quality of beer” and ambience.

Mr Gould said the pub, which won the same award in 2015, consistently served excellent beer. Its open fire also makes it a popular winter destination.

It was chosen ahead of other pubs that sell real ale in and around Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, Boroughbridge and Masham.

The Harrogate Tap is owned by Pivovar, which also runs Tapped Leeds, Sheffield Tap, Newcastle Tap and York Tap.

It has 12 lines of real cask ale, including the Tapped Brew Co ales it brews in Sheffield.

The pub serves 12 types of real ale.

Manager Tidgh Collins and previous manager Adam Whiteley received a commemorative certificate from Mr Gould.

It joined 17 other top pubs in the quest to find Yorkshire’s best pub and a place in CAMRA’s national pub of the year competition. However, that accolade went to the Beer Engine in Skipton.

Read more:

• Sneak Peek: The Knaresborough Inn boosts town’s flourishing hospitality appeal
• Rossett School in Harrogate joins Red Kite academy

A Nidderdale pub has been named country pub of the year by the local branch of the Campaign for Real Ale.

The Crown at Middlesmoor has picked up the award, which recognises “beer quality and its contribution to the community and tourism”.

Alan Gould, chair of the Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA, presented the prize to landlady Angie Snow and her son Samuel.

Mr Gould said village pubs were important and pointed out some were the subject to campaigns to be bought by their local communities.

In a post on its social media, the pub said:

“So we have just been awarded country pub of the year 2023. So proud of all our staff who work hard to keep us going.”

Read more:

• Harrogate social club wins CAMRA award
• Knaresborough pub wins CAMRA newcomer award
• Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet visits Nidderdale pub for dinner

The pub is known to attract celebrities on occasion and was visited by Oscar winning actress, Kate Winslet, in May this year.

Kate Winslet, centre, with Megan Dunn and Angela Snow at the pub this year.

CAMRA’s Harrogate and Ripon branch covers a large area of North Yorkshire including parts of a national park and an area of outstanding natural beauty.

It runs two separate pub of the year awards, one for country pub and another for town pubs.

Last month, CAMRA awarded The Oatlands club on Coronation Grove in Harrogate best club in the area for 2023.

The Track and Sleeper pub in Knaresborough has won the award for best newcomer awarded by the Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA branch.

The pub opened on Knaresborough train station’s platform two in 2021.

Renovations to the building earned the pub an urban heritage award from the National Railway Heritage Award scheme. Now the Campaign for Real Ale, which promotes real ales and cider, has also recognised its efforts.

Alan Gould, chairman of Harrogate and Ripon CAMRA, praised father and son duo Phil and Cameron Paling for navigating difficult trading conditions.

Alan Gould (centre) presents the award.

Mr Gould said:

“The award recognises the risks taken in establishing a new business especially in hospitality but the bar must serve cask beer of a consistent good quality to be considered.

“A number of newer venues in the Harrogate area don’t meet that criterion as they don’t serve any cask beer.”

Phil runs the family’s Mexborough brewery while Cameron manages the bar as well as another pub in Swinton.

Mr Gould also alluded to the idea of a new Rail Ale Trail – when pubs across a certain train line create a pub crawl with participants travelling between the stops on a train.

He suggested a Leeds to York trail could be created as a number of pubs have now opened along this route. The Track and Sleeper would definitely be an important stop on this possible route.

CAMRA has also recently given a number of awards to other pubs in the area. These include: Major Toms for Cider Pub of the Year and Club of the Year going to the Oatlands.

Read more:

• A-ha’s sound man opens record shop and bar in Harrogate
• Brew Bar owner opens new Harrogate coffee shop

A Harrogate craft beer bar has been named Pub of the Year not for its real ale — but for its real cider. 

Major Tom’s Social in The Ginnel was awarded the title by the local branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) due to the quality of the cider it serves. 

CAMRA said in a press release that although cider, made from apples, and perry, made from pears, are usually associated with south-west England there are a number of excellent Yorkshire producers, for example in Masham, Thornborough, and Husthwaite.

Lauren Wray, assistant general manager at Major Tom’s Social, said:

“We’re really pleased to receive this award. It’s quite an honour, and it’s a nice asset to the bar.

“We’ve only started focusing more on cider over the last year or two, but it sells really well. We’re obviously best known for our beer, so it was quite a surprise to get an award for our cider.”

According to CAMRA’s definition, real cider is fermented from the whole juice of fresh pressed apples – or pears in the case of perry.

It precludes the common practice of using concentrate or diluted juices to boost strength through the addition of sugar to an unnatural level for storage, before then diluting it with water to the desired alcohol content for sale. 

Alan Gould, chairman of the Harrogate and Ripon branch of CAMRA, said: 

“CAMRA campaigns for a high quality of materials and production methods, whether that’s in beer, cider or perry.

“Major Tom’s sell real cider, and that’s really not very common. They keep it in the right condition and get it from the right sources – small scale, artisanal producers who make craft cider well.”

Read more:

• Harrogate pub wins CAMRA award after one year of opening
• ‘Intimate gem’ Knaresborough pub wins rare award for beer quality
• Beer festival season starts with three-day Henshaws event

A pub in Knaresborough Market Place has been recognised for serving high quality real ale for three decades.

Blind Jack’s was awarded a certificate by the Campaign for Real Ale last night for 30 years’ continuous appearance in the Good Beer Guide.

The guide, produced annually by CAMRA, is the UK’s premier guide to the best beer in the country.

A total of 24 local pubs feature in the recently published 2023 edition. But it is not believed any can match Blind Jack’s record of being included every year in the last 30.

Christian Ogley and his wife Alice bought Blind Jack’s five years ago from Ian Fozard, the owner of Harrogate brewers Roosters.

Blind Jack’s on Market Place

Mr Ogley said only a handful of pubs in the country could match Blind Jack’s long-term record for consecutive appearances in the ale drinkers’ bible.

He said conditions in the 400-year-old building were ideal for maintaining ale at the right temperature and the pub also kept the quality high by ensuring a high turnover of live cask ales.

Read more:

• Sneak Peek: The Nelson Inn reopens this week
• Knaresborough solicitor died in fatal fire caused by candle, inquest finds

Alun Gauld, chairman of the Harrogate and Ripon branch of CAMRA, presented a certificate to the owners last night. He said:

“Christian and Alice were overjoyed to have their hard work at the pub recognised by CAMRA and the certificate will join the other awards on the pub’s trophy display wall.

“In the pub’s first Good Beer Guide entry back in 1993 it was described as an intimate gem and it remains a gem to this day. “

The certificate presented last night

Mr Gauld said two other Harrogate district pubs had been in the Good Beer Guide regularly for many years — the White Bear in Masham and the One Eyed Rat in Ripon.

But he said he was only sure Blind Jack’s had been listed in the publication every year for the last three decades.

The last remaining pub owned by Sam Smith’s in Knaresborough has called time and closed its doors.

The Wellington Inn, a traditional pub on Briggate, was until recently one of three pubs in the town owned by the Tadcaster-based brewery.

There was also the Marquis of Granby, on York Place, and the Commercial Hotel, formerly the Borough Bailiff, on High Street.

Allan Gauld, branch chairman, Harrogate & Ripon CAMRA said:

“Obviously we are disappointed and saddened by the closure of any pub or licensed premises. Sam Smith’s are known for offering good value prices in a traditional setting so the closure of their last house in Knaresborough is a particular blow to customer choice.

“We understand the pressures the licensed trade had been under during and since the pandemic and we hope Sam Smith’s will be able to find new tenants and the closures will not be permanent. Knaresborough has gained a good reputation for the quality and variety of its pubs and we’re sure this will continue.”

People in Knaresborough reacted with sadness to the closure on Facebook, with many expressing concerns over “yet another” empty building in the town.

Read more:

• Landmark Knaresborough pub sold
• Killinghall resident looks into ways to reopen village pub

One person wrote:

“Such a shame and Knaresborough just ends up with empty buildings.”

Another added:

“What a shame, another nice pub stands empty.”

The Stray Ferret attempted to contact Sam Smith’s but has not yet received a reply.