East Lancs Camra’s John Ingham has celebrated taking over a popular Moorhouse’s village pub with a brewery supported ‘greet the locals night’.
For retired accountant and former branch chairman John, the numbers added up to step behind the bar at the Rising Sun in Blacko, near Colne, Lancashire. A favourite pub of Roger Protz, the unspoilt historic hostelry overlooks the famous Pendle Hill landmark in Lancashire’s witch country – the inspiration for Moorhouse’s acclaimed brands, including Black Cat, Pendle Witches Brew, Blond Witch and Pride of Pendle.
Cheers to John Ingham (right) at the Rising Sun.
To mark John’s arrival, brewery chairman Bill Parkinson joined a ‘welcome night’ complete with quiz prizes that included a pint of beer a day for a month. Prior to the night, one-pint vouchers were issued in the parish magazine to be redeemable throughout November in a teasing ‘Take Pride in Your Local’ promotion. John says he plans to ensure a warm welcome to villagers and visitors alike in a friendly village pub environment with a quality home cooked bar snacks.
David Grant, Moorhouse’s managing director said: “This is a terrific community pub and we wanted to welcome John with a special night for the villagers. Moorhouse’s witch beers have, of course, a reputation for their top quality – and now we have got a top Camra man to look after them.”
The award winning Burnley brewer enjoyed record shattering sales for October**. In the week before Halloween 522 brewer’s barrels left the Lancashire brewery as demand for the famous ‘Pendle Witches’ cask ales grows throughout the UK. The sales triumph comes as the internationally acclaimed brewer embarks on a £3.5m new brewery development to treble production capacity.