Dan KettlewellA York pub only opened within the last nine months has already won a nationally recognised award by being chosen as the regional winner in the Best Cask Beer Pub section of the prestigious Great British Pub Awards. This is even more of an achievement when you discover that the region includes the whole of Yorkshire, the North East and the entire country of Scotland.
The York Tap based on Platform 3 at York station is the brainchild of the owners of fellow beer emporiums Pivni and Sheffield’s own Tap, and has been serving up a wide range of speciality and artisan beers and ales, as well as their Czech house beer Bernard, to thirsty commuters, tourists and keen locals willing to make the trip.
A contingent of staff will be attending the ceremony in London on 13 September to receive the award from comedian Jason Manford, and they will undoubtedly see this as a just reward for turning a previously disused annex of the railway station into an award-wining establishment in little over a year.
Although the York Tap will be York’s first winners in these awards, the surrounding Yorkshire countryside is dotted with previous winners since the inaugural awards took place in 2009, and this year is no different.
The closest country pub this year is the Crown Inn in Great Ouseburn just outside York. They will be awarded with the title of the region’s Best Food Pub and will take with them the confidence of knowing they have already won The Press’ Best Food Pub award last year.
Although York only recently narrowly lost out in the Norwich Vs York Campaign for Real Ale challenge, this is evidence that whilst we do not have quite as many beers on offer as our southern cathedral-city friends, the quality of our hostelries is still nationally recognised by the industry’s leading awarding body.
