A Moorhouse’s pub has been praised in a North West council’s battle to promote healthier eating.

The Pendle Witch at Atherton, Greater Manchester, has received a Wigan Council Healthy Business Award – given to cafes, canteens and chippies across the borough.

“When you see something on our menu, you know it’s homemade” – that’s the pledge from chef Jason Baxter. Since the team at the Witch signed up to Wigan Council’s healthy business agenda all their meals are freshly made on the premises.

Landlady Joan Houghton shows off the healthy menu, with Moorhouse’s Mike Hiscock and chef Jason Baxter.

A popular town centre hostelry and famous for many years as a real ale house, the Pendle Witch, in Warburton Place, has seen major investment by the award winning brewery to develop the food business, with enhanced kitchen facilities and a new conservatory dining area.

The pub’s CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) credentials go back more than ten years and it was voted Pub of the Year 2009 by the South East Lancashire Branch. But long-term landlady Joan Houghton really wanted to give customers something more.

“Everyone knows our pub as one where you can get a variety of high quality beers,” Joan said. “Now, with our new menus, we’re developing a reputation for offering food that’s a bit more special than the usual burger or pie and pint.”

Jason’s menus state in detail exactly what he has used to make their meal. He aims to produce healthy food so customers can be confident as to precisely what they are eating and how it has been cooked.  He’s even removed salt cellars from the tables.

“Of course people can have salt if they want it,” he said. “But I carefully prepare each meal and ensure unhealthy ingredients like too much salt are kept out.  Taste it first!” Each table also displays a small triangular card, which has facts about salt intake to re-enforce the message that having less salt is healthier.

Wigan Council’s Cabinet Champion for Lifestyles, Cllr Paul Prescott says: “Pub grub has a mixed reputation, but here’s a venue which is not only celebrating food but also offering something way beyond basic bar snacks in terms of quality and style.”

Mike Hiscock, Moorhouse’s national sales manager, said: “We’re delighted that the Pendle Witch is working with Wigan Council.  Being a healthy business is important to us and shows we’re committed to giving choice and quality to customers. Also this is further evidence that our investment in the pub is paying off.”

Moorhouse’s Golden Cue snooker tournament for East Lancashire clubs has enjoyed a third successful year.

In 2007 sponsorship from Moorhouse’s, the North West’s leading dedicated cask-ale brewer, revived the once highly popular Golden Cue contest – run through the Burnley Express Newspaper – following a 16 year absence.

Amateur players among club members from Burnley, Pendle and Ribble Valley are eligible to enter the individual contest. With a total pot of £1,000, there is a first prize of £500 and second of £250.

Moorhouse’s managing director David Grant said: “Last year we increased the sponsorship and the tournament has once again proved a success as the resurgence of snooker in clubs across East Lancashire continues unabated. Meanwhile our award winning real ales continue to grow increasingly popular with club land customers. The contest has further raised our profile among clubs land while also boosting their own trade and we hope that many more clubs will get behind next season’s contest to make it even bigger.

The grand final was once again held at Burnley’s Ighten Leigh social club, where Neil McGovern was instrumental in resurrecting the competition.

Jimmy Waddington brushed off the distraction of a fire evacuation at the club to triumph in the final. The evacuation was, thankfully, a false alarm, and Lamb Club cueist Waddington kept his concentration to beat Colne Legion’s Dean Emmott 4-1 in an engrossing match.Waddington was in charge for the majority of the final, and despite no large breaks, a crowd of over 120 spectators were kept entertained.

David Grant, Moorhouse’s managing director, presented the trophy and £500 first prize to Waddington, while £250 went to runner up Emmott. Referees Dave Howe and John Timperley also received mementos of the competition.

This year Moorhouse’s embarked upon a £4.2m expansion which will triple production capacity to some 1000 barrels a week. When completed in 2011 the new complex will include a training school for publicans and a visitor centre.

Moorhouse’s national sales manager Mike Hiscock was on hand to toast the reopening of an historic Cheshire village inn following a major £150,000 refurbishment.

The investment aims to create a community venue and top quality informal dining destination at the Yew Tree Inn, Bunbury, near Tarporley, which had been closed for two years.

Now – despite the economic climate – former Lancashire man Jon Cox and his wife Lindsay plan to breathe new life into the once popular hostelry, replicating their success in recent years in transforming the former derelict Bull at Shocklach, near Malpas. The Bull is already a Michelin and Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) praised country inn.

Mike Hiscock (left) raises a glass at the Yew Tree with Ed Warrington and Lindsay and Jon Cox.

Originally named the Crewe Arms, the free house Yew Tree has been imaginatively refurbished with a mix of traditional and contemporary design features – including large solid wooden bar, wooden board or tiled flooring throughout and beamed dining/drinking areas with three real fires. A spacious new sun terrace provides excellent outdoor dining.  Eventually outbuildings will be developed for accommodation.

The informal pub food offer will use only the best ingredients, much from local suppliers while Reasheath College advisors have helped plan a kitchen garden. There’s a 50 bin wine choice and malt whisky collection lined up alongside at least five regular hand pulled real ales from a selection of craft brewers, including Moorhouse’s. A further six pumps will be available for beer festivals and other events.

Cask ale enthusiast Jon said: “We plan some great events, including a Game Food Festival in November and aim to create a welcoming pub venue for the community with support for local groups. We will have cask ale at the pub’s heart and hold regular beer festivals.

“This is major business expansion for us at a very challenging time, with pubs closing everyday. However, as we pull out of recession, we are convinced that a quality village pub with excellent, affordable, food and cask ale from craft brewers will prosper. We aim to emulate the Bull’s success.”

Jon is originally from the Burnley area and has maintained a long love of Moorhouse’s ales. “It was only right that Moorhouse’s should be in on the opening of the new pub and we plan for it to feature regularly on the bar,” said Jon. He and Lindsay will oversee both businesses while remaining at the Bull. Chester man Ed Warrington, 28, formerly with premier pub company Brunning & Price as assistant manager at the Grosvenor, Alford.

Mike Hiscock said: “It was a real pleasure to support Jon and Lindsay in the opening of this terrific inn. We plan sales push in the Cheshire area and the Yew Tree is a terrific venue to showcase our award winning ales.

Moorhouse’s has rolled out ‘Chief Beer Taster’ ale in honour of chairman Bill Parkinson.

Bill Parkinson

A seven per cent strength ‘limited edition’ brew was released for the Manchester entrepreneur’s seventieth birthday celebrations. It is named after the fun moniker printed on his business card.

Since saving the Burnley brewery from closure 25 years ago ‘because he liked the beer’, the convivial brewery boss has invested heavily in the famous Pendle Witch brands. Now the internationally acclaimed brewer is bucking the recession to build a £4.2m brewing complex – and just days before a birthday toast the roof went on the new brew house

Just 20 barrels of the premium strength commemorative ale were brewed and split between cask and bottle. Licensees who ordered a firkin of cask also received a complimentary case of the bottled ale to raffle to their customers.

Managing director David Grant made a surprise presentation of several cases of the bottled version at a family birthday party. Later Bill sampled the cask in his very own ‘local’ (see photograph) – the Pendle Witch in Atherton, Greater Manchester, where he is also a member of the pub pool team.

Bill samples his ale with Pendle Witch landlady Joan Hougthon.

Bill said: “The beer was a wonderful birthday surprise. It is a great tasting brew, very suitable for a chief beer taster. It was big surprise to see my face on a pump clip and on the bottles as well. I like to have the title on my card just for a bit of fun – chairman seems a bit pretentious – and it makes a great ice breaker. But I never expected this. And my birthday couldn’t have come at a better time. The new brewery is rapidly taking shape, so we could also raise a glass to future.”

David Grant said: “This was a great opportunity for some of our loyal licensees and their discerning customers to have a pint with Bill.”

Moorhouse’s is the North West’s largest dedicated cask-conditioned ale brewer and is enjoying year-on year sales growth for its award winning brews, winning business with leading pub companies and in the free trade across the UK.

Moorhouse’s, the North West’s leading dedicated real ale brewer, is backing National Cask Ale Week (29 March to 5 April) by offering ‘showcase’ events to publicans.

The successful showcase evenings include a film presentation on the Burnley brewery and brewing before a tutored tasting session of the famous five Pendle Witches brews* in either cask or bottle – followed by short beer quiz with prizes. Licensees, if they wish, can also work with the brewery to devise beer with food matches and can charge a nominal fee for the night.

The venue should have at least three hand pumps, be able stock Moorhouse’s beers for a few days, and, ideally, have a separate room available to avoid disrupting normal trade.

Moorhouse's David Grant (L) raises a glass with Bull licensees Lindsay and Jon Cox at a brewery Showcase event.

Over the past few years Moorhouse’s has put on the events across the country, from The Rake in London, the Turf, Oxford and the Guildford, Edinburgh, attracting audiences from both cask ale lovers and novices. The evenings have also been very popular in Wetherspoon’s pubs throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire, increasing business on each occasion.

Managing director David Grant said: “The showcases are free to the publican and ready made for those looking to stage a special event for Cask Ale Week. With or without food they are successful evenings with pub customers and good business drivers. We have several dates available in Cask Ale Week itself or around that time.”

At the Bull in Shocklach, South Cheshire – a country inn with five hand pumps and listed in the Good Beer Guide – a showcase recently attracted an audience of more than thirty people. It included a beer and food pairing using ‘tapas’ sized dishes with traditional British recipes devised by the pub’s chefs.

Bull landlord Jon Cox said: “It was a great night for both our regular real ale drinkers and several who knew little about cask ale. We enjoyed a good boost to our trade on what may otherwise have been a quiet night and it stimulated further interest in our cask ales.”

Contact David Grant on 01282 422864 for showcase details. For information on National Cask Ale Week see: www.caskaleweek.co.uk

CHEERS: Moorhouse’s managing director David Grant with some of the beers that are winging their way to New York.

AN East Lancashire brewery famed for its Pendle Witch and Black Cat real ales is casting its spell across America.

Moorhouse’s, based in Burnley, is giving big guns Budweiser and Coors a run for their money after branching out into the US market.

David Grant, managing director at the Accrington Road-based brewery, said: “I am a great believer in the idea that if you do something, you do it properly, and it seemed to me that we were not giving the American market the attention that it needed.”

And the charm offensive is already reaping rewards, with US sales set to quadruple this year.

The brewery exports its award-winning cask ales to liquor stores and bars in New York, Baltimore and Washington.

Brewers at the Burnley site concoct one tipple – English Owd Ale – especially for the US, and it is proving the most popular.

But one the well known beers has to undergo a slight name change before it is hits the US shores.

John Ingham, of East Lancs CAMRA who runs the Rising Sun, in Gisburn Road, Blacko, said Blond Witch had a similar sounding name in America but it could cause offence over here.

He said: “I think it’s because they’re a bit funny about witchcraft. The other word is obviously not as offensive!

“I’m delighted to see it doing so well. I think they are some of the greatest beers in England.

“The lagers they usually drink in America are quite cold so if they are serving the Moorhouse’s beers at the right temperature I would imagine they will get a lot more flavour.”

Despite exporting to the US for 15 years, Moorhouse’s has only recently appointed a salesman in the country, a move that has achieved results.

Mr Grant said: “We had never had any face-to-face contact with our importer there.

“So I spoke to him and discovered that we knew nothing about him or his business and, more importantly, nothing about his customers or their spending.”

Story written by Chris Hopper of the Lancashire Telegraph.

David Grant, MD Moorhouse's Brewery

Prince Charles was briefed on Moorhouse’s new multi-million pound brewing complex as he paid a hectic royal visit to Burnley.

During an action packed tour of the north-east Lancashire town that included meetings with local businessmen, Moorhouse’s managing director David Grant was able to outline the £3.5m project to the Prince.

The 145-year-old company has recently commenced work on the major ‘tower brewery’ development which will double the workforce and treble production capacity for the internationally acclaimed ‘Pendle Witch’ cask ales to some 1,000 barrels a week. A training school and visitor centre are also included to help in regenerating the former mill town.

David Grant, who gave interviews with the BBC over the day, said: “To have a visit from the Prince was a great day for Burnley and a terrific opportunity to reveal Moorhouse’s exciting plans to him. We are playing a key role in the development of Burnley and the Prince showed real interest. In a short presentation I told him this was the first traditional tower brewery to be built for many years and he was impressed that we have included a visitor centre in the scheme. He thought this would help to promote the town. He asked me to write to him with further details.”

“Over the day I had the chance to talk with him further on a couple of occasions.He expressed his great concern about the closure of rural pubs and spoke of the ways in which they might be saved through use as post offices and stores. I pointed out the red tape obstacles that are involved in this and he was most interested.In fact,I saw so much of the Prince that at one stage he jokingly asked if I was stalking him.”

Prince Charles has a strong links with Burnley through the Prince’s Trust charity that supports training and employment opportunities for young people. His itinerary included visits to the new £81m University of Central Lancashire campus, historic Townley Hall for a meeting with business and community leaders and Turf Moor, the home of Burnley Football Club, where David Grant joined a panel of local business people to debate ways forward for the town.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg pledged to revitalise northern industry on a visit to Moorhouse’s Brewery in Burnley.

In the Lancashire town to support the parliamentary candidate Coun Gordon Birtwhistle- also leader of Burnley Borough Council – the MP for Sheffield Hallam revealed the party’s regional plans while at the award winning brewery to witness its success.

Despite the recession 145 year old Moorhouse’s has recently commenced work on a £3.5m expansion to treble production capacity for the internationally acclaimed‘Pendle Witch’ ales and double the workforce. The development will include a training school and visitor centre, which will help regenerate the former mill town.

Speaking to Granada TV, local radio and regional newspaper journalists, Mr Clegg said that successive goverments had abandoned northern towns,such as Burnley, once famous for their industries. He pledged that the Lib-Dems would bring in policies to rebuild the industrial heartlands with tax reforms, education and training and a £3.5bn economic stimulus to create new green jobs and help entreprenuers with local enterprise funds.

Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg raises a toast to Moorhouse's with Coun Gordon Birtwhistle (left) and brewery MD David Grant (right).

“If we have learnt anything from the financial crisis, it must surely be that we need to rebalance the economy away from financial wizardry and towards the production of goods and services that people actually need,” he said.

After sampling a pint of Premier Bitter in the General Scarlett brewery tap (see photograph) he added: “It was a real honour to be shown around a brewery as old and distinguished as Moorhouse’s. Hearing from David Grant about the plans to expand and open a new multi-million brewing complex showed that despite all the negative news, there are still good stories out there. Liberal Democrats in Parliament are at the forefront of speaking up for brewers and businesses more generally in Westminster, so it was extremely useful to hear first-hand about the industry issues.”

Moorhouse’s managing director David Grant said: “We worked closely with the council’s business support team to help make our expansion plans a reality.This visit helped to highlighted how small businesses can succeed despite the economic problems. It also provided an opportunity to express our concerns to Nick Clegg on behalf of the industry.

“It is clear that he is very supportive of craft brewing. He recognises that it is a sector helping to keep the manufacturing skills base alive in many northern towns. We spoke of the issues for the trade such as the advantages of the tie for independent brewers and how we need a level playing field with the supermarket giants of the off-trade – something he said he will certainly keep his eye on.”

Moorhouse’s is the North West’s leading dedicated cask-conditioned ale brewer and has won more awards than any other brewer of comparable size. The new brewery will produce some 1,000 barrels a week while still using traditional brewing skills.

David Grant, MD Moorhouse's Brewery

Moorhouse’s Brewery has toasted another record breaking year with seasonal sales up by 12 per cent as a total of 432,500 pints of cask ale left the brewery.

The news followed a 13 per cent increase in turnover on 2008 during October and November – when the famous Pendle Witch brews are in great demand for Halloween.

The 2009 figures topped an outstanding year for Moorhouse’s as work got underway on a £3.5m new brewing complex to triple brewing capacity. New business was won with leading pub companies and in the south of England, while the internationally acclaimed brewery was also recognised in prestigious Lancashire business awards.

In November, the Burnley brewer was praised in the Lancashire Telegraph Business Awards for its determination to expand despite the economic downturn, while earlier in the year Burnley Borough Council awarded Moorhouse’s the Best Marketing Initiative accolade.

David Grant, Moorhouse’s managing director, said: “Recent years have seen us consistently smash all previous records and once again we have enjoyed an amazing festive season. This was despite the difficult economy and many pubs being hit by the bad weather. These sales round off an exciting year and give us a great start to 2010. They are a real tribute to the wide appeal of our award winning beers and are particularly gratifying as the new brewery project forges ahead. Winning business accolades for our efforts also gives an extra boost for everyone at the brewery.”

Moorhouse’s is the North West’s leading dedicated cask ale brewery and directly supplies several hundred free-houses and pub company outlets in the region and in Yorkshire while the beers are also distributed nationally via leading wholesalers and major pub chains.